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HISTORICAL  ILLUSTRATIONS 


THE  OLD  TESTAMENT. 


REV.  G.  :^AWLINSON,  M.  A. 

CAMDEN  PBOFESSOR  OF  ANCI£NI  HISTOKT,  OXFOSO. 


WITH  ADDITIONS 


Pkof.  H.  B.  HACKETT. 


BOSTON: 
HENRY  A.  YOUNG  AND  CO. 

24    CORNHILL. 

1874. 


^ 


%^ 


Entered,  acpording  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1873,  by 

Henry  A.  Young  and  Co., 
in  the  OflSce  of  the  Librarian  of  Congress,  at  Washington 


EIVERSIDE,  CAMBRIDGE  : 

■IBBEOTYPED    AND    PRINTED    Bf 

H.   0.   HOUGUTON  AND  COMPANT 


PEEFATOEY  TO  THE  AMEEICAN  EDITION. 


This  volume  is  one  of  the  recent  publica- 
tions of  the  "  Society  for  Promoting  Christian 
Knowledge,"  so  well  known  for  its  activity 
in  England.  It  has  already  passed  there 
through  repeated  editions  in  the  short  time 
since  its  appearance.  Rev.  George  Rawlin- 
son,  Camden  Professor  of  Ancient  History  in 
the  University  of  Oxford,  is  well  known  as 
the  author  of  our  ablest  works  relating  to  the 
old  Asiatic  monarchies  connected  with  Jewish 
history  and  occupying  so  prominent  a  place 
in  the  Old  Testament.  A  work  like  the  pres- 
ent, from  such  a  source  and  so  approved 
elsewhere,  deserves  republication  here.  The 
book  gives  us  the  results  (yet  duly  authenti- 
cated by  appropriate  references)  rather  than 
the  processes  of  scholarship,  and  thus  brings 
the  important  questions  with  which  it  deals 
within  the  reach  of  all  intelligent  readers. 


IV  PREFATORY. 

During  the  last  fifty  years,  and  especially 
the  latter  part  of  this  period,  we  have  entered 
on  a  new  epoch  of  Biblical  knowledge  and 
illustration.  Cities  that  for  ages  lay  buried 
in  ruins  have  been  disinterred.  The  pyramids 
have  broken  their  long  silence  and  spoken  to 
us.  The  Assyrian  inscriptions,  which  go  back 
to  the  age  of  the  earliest  patriarchs,  have  been 
read,  and  have  yielded  up  their  hidden  mean- 
ing. Papyri,  as  old  as  the  Hebrew  Exodus, 
by  the  aid  of  modern  science  have  been  deci- 
phered. Geographical  explorations,  more  or 
less  complete,  have  been  made  in  all  parts  of 
the  Holy  Land,  enabling  us  to  judge  of  the 
accuracy  with  which  the  sacred  writers  speak 
of  the  relative  situation  of  cities  and  villages, 
and  of  the  scenery  and  agricultural  or  nomadic 
adaptations  of  this  singular  country,  so  diver- 
sified in  its  aspects  and  characteristics. 

It  is  the  object  of  Professor  Rawlinson's 
"  Historical  Illustrations  of  the  Old  Testa- 
ment," to  state  to  us  within  a  brief  compass 
the  results  of  this  cross-questioning  of  such 
witnesses  "  from  the  dead,"  and  show  us  how 
fully  within  the  limits  of  such  a  comparison 


PKEFATOEY.  V 

their  testimony  supports  the  truthfulness  and 
credibility  of  the  Old  Testament  records. 

It  is  hoped  that  the  few  additions  which 
the  Editor  has  made  in  the  body  of  the  work 
and  in  the  Appendices  will  be  found  to  har- 
monize with  the  author's  design,  and  may 
prove  acceptable  to  the  reader.  These  addi- 
tions are  distinguished  from  the  original  text 
by  brackets,  or  the  writer's  initial.  With  that 
exception  this  edition  is  a  scrupulous  reprint 
of  the  English  work,  both  in  form  and  con- 
tents. 

H.  B.  H. 

BocHESTER  Theological  Seminary,  Afay,  1873. 


TABLE   OF  CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  I. 

PAOB 

Intkoductory 1 

CHAPTER  II. 
Genesis 7 

Traditions  of  Paradise — of  the  Fall  —  the  Serpent  —  of 
primeval  longevity  —  of  the  early  invention  of  the  Arts 
—  of  the  Flood  —  testimony  of  the  Mahabharata— ; 
American  traditions.  —  Conclusions  of  modern  eth- 
nology anticipated  by  Gen.  x.  —  Traditions  of  Tower  of 
Babel  and  Confusion  of  Tongues.  —  Proof  of  early 
Cushite  kingdom  in  Babylonia. — Relations  of  Assyria 
to  Babylonia.  —  Condition  of  Egypt  in  the  time  of  Abra- 
ham. —  Power  of  Elam  and  name  of  Chedor-laomer. — 
Accurate  description  of  Egypt  in  the  later  chapters  of 
Genesis.  —  Supposed  "mistakes"  of  the  writer  exam- 
ined. 

CHAPTER  III. 

Exodus  to  Deuteronomy         .        .         ....  56 

Profane  accounts  of  the  Exodus — Manetho's  version. — 
Account  of  Chffiremon.  —  Agreement  of  these  ac- 
counts with  Scripture.  —  Accounts  of  Hecataeus  of  Ab- 
dera,  and  of  Tacitus.  —  The  differences  and  inaccuracies 
of  these  various  accounts  explained.  —  Egyptian  ver- 
sions of  the  passage  of  the  Red  Sea.  —  Egyptian  monu- 
ments illustrate  the  oppression  suffered  by  the  Israelites 
in  Egypt,  and  confirm  the  general  picture  of  Egyptian 
customs  in  Exodus.  —  Hebrew  art  at  the  time  of  the 
Exodus  such  as  might  have  been  learnt  in  Egypt.  — 
Historical  illustration  of  the  sojourn  in  the  Wilderness 


Vlll  CONTENTS. 

not  possible.  —  The  chief  difficulty  connected  with  it 
considered.  —  Testimony  of  F.  W.  Holland  and  others. 

—  Colenso's  objections. 

CHAPTER  IV. 
Joshua  to  Samuel, 88 

Geography  of  the  book  of  Joshua.  —  Testimony  of  Rit- 
ter.  —  Saul's  last  battle-field.  —  Isolation  of  the  He- 
brews after  the  Exodus  prevents  much  historical  illus- 
tration. —  Negative  accord  of  their  records  with  the 
Egyptian  and  Assyrian.  —  Tradition  of  Joshua's  war 
with  the  Canaanites  preserved  in  North  Africa.  — 
David's  wars  confirmed  by  Nicolas  of  Damascus  and 
Eupolemon.  —  Early  preeminence  of  Sidon  confirmed. 

—  Power  of  Hittites  confirmed.  —  Philistine  power  con- 
firmed. —  Manners  and  customs  depicted  confirmed  or 
probable. 

CHAPTER  Y. 

Kings  akd  Chronicles 104 

Empire  of  Solomon  has  numerous  Oriental  parallels.  —  1. 
In  its  sudden  rise  and  short  duration  —  2.  In  its  charac- 
ter. —  Solomon's  reign  and  relations  with  Hiram  attested 
by  Dius.  —  Discovery  at  Jerusalem.  —  Other  points 
attested  by  the  Tyrian  histories.  —  Illustration  of  his 
reign  from  the  pai-allel  history  of  Egj-pt  scanty.  —  Date 
of  Empire  harmonizes  with  facts  of  Assyrian  and 
Egyptian  history.  — Picture  drawn  of  Phoenicians  con- 
firmed by  profane  writers.  —  Art  of  Solomon  resembles 
that  of  Assyria.  —  Shishak's  expedition  against  Reho- 
boam  confirmed  by  an  Egyptian  inscription.  —  Zerah^s 
expedition  against  Asa.  — Greatness  of  Omri  confirmed 
by  the  Assyrian  inscriptions,  and  also  by  the  "Moabite 
Stone." — Ahab  mentioned  on  the  Black  Obelisk  and 
on  the  Moabite  Stone. — His  reign  illustrated  by  the 
Tyrian  histories.  —  The  Moabite  Stone  confirms  the 
revolt  of  Moab  from  Ahaziah.  —  Hazael  and  Jehu  men- 
tioned on  the  Black  Obelisk. — Assyrian  monuments 
agree  with  Scripture  as  to  the  general  condition  of  Syria, 
B.  c.  900-800.  —  Depression  of  Assyria,  about  b.  c. 
800-750,  accords  with  increase  of  Jewish  power  at  that 
time.  —  Silence  of  the  Assyrian  records  with  respect 


'       CONTE^^TS.  IX 

to  Pul.  —  Testimony  of  Berosus,  and  probable  position 
of  this  king.  —  Abundant  illustration  of  Tiglath-pileser's 
Syrian  wars  in  the  Assyrian  records.  —  Slight  chrono- 
logical difficulty.  —  Menander's  notice  of  Shalmaneser's 
Syrian  wars.  —  Assyrian  and  Egyptian  notices  of  "  So, 
king  of  Egypt."  — Assyrian  account  of  the  fall  of  Sa- 
maria. —  Sargon's  records  confirm  Isaiah  xx.  and  2 
Kings  xvii.  6.  —  Sennacherib's  first  expedition  against 
Hezekiah  described  fully  in  his  annals,  but  no  account 
given  of  his  second  expedition.  —  Distorted  account  of 
the  latter  in  Herodotus.  —  Assyrian  records  imply  the 
murder  of  Sennacherib  by  his  sons.  —  Tirhakah  and 
Merodach-Baladan  known  to  us  from  monuments  of  the 
period.  —  Manasseh's  visit  to  Babylon  accords  with 
Esarhaddon's  residence  there.  —  Josiah's  greatness 
harmonizes  with  the  parallel  decline  and  fall  of  Assyr- 
ria.  —  Necho's  Syrian  conquests  and  their  loss  con- 
firmed by  Herodotus  and  Berosus.  —  Nebuchadnezzar's 
conquest  of  Jerusalem  confirmed  by  Berosus.  —  Wide 
extent  of  the  illustrations  here  brought  together,  and 
insignificance  of  the  apparent  discrepancies.  — Further 
illustration  of  the  period  from  the  accord  of  Scripture 
with  profane  history  in  respect  of  manners  and  customs. 

CHAPTER  VI. 
Daniel. 166 

Historical  character  of  the  book  of  Daniel.  —  Sketch  of 
the  history  related  in  it.  —  Chronological  difficulties  of 
the  early  chapters  cleared  by  a  passage  of  Berosus.  — 
Confirmations  of  the  narrative  from  the  same  passage.  — 
General  character  of  Nebuchadnezzar's  kingdom,  as 
represented  by  Daniel,  agrees  Avith  profane  history  and 
with  the  Babj^lonian  remains.  —  Supposed  "historical 
inaccuracies"  of  Daniel  examined. — Mysterious  mal- 
ady of  Nebuchadnezzer  hinted  at  by  a  profane  writer.  — 
Difficulties  formerly  felt  with  respect  to  the  name  and 
fate  of  Belshazzar  removed  by  a  recently-discovered 
Babylonian  inscription.  —  Account  of  the  capture  of 
Babylon  confirmed  by  profane  historians. — Difficulties 
connected  with  "Darius  the  Mede,"  and  their  possible 
solution.  — Daniel's  narrative  of  events  under  this  king 


X  CONTENTS. 

accords  with  profane  accounts  of  Medo-Persic  ideas  and 
practices.  —  Harmony  between  Daniel's  notes  of  time 
and  profane  chronology. 

CHAPTER  VII. 

Ezra,  Nehemiah,  and  Esther 191 

Character  of  the  history  in  these  books,  and  points  which 
admit  of  profane  illustration.  —  Succession  of  the  Per- 
sian kings  correctly  given.  —  The  character  and  actions 
of  Cyrus  agree  with  profane  accounts  of  him.  —  The 
discovery  of  his  decree  at  Ecbatana  agrees  with  his  habit 
of  residing  there.  —  Reversal  of  the  decree  of  Cyrus  by 
the  next  king  but  one  agrees  with  his  religious  posi- 
tion. —  Relations  of  Darius  with  the  Jews,  and  terms  of 
his  edict,  suitable  to  his  character  and  circumstances.  — 
Portrait  of  Xerxes  in  the  book  of  Esther  agrees  with 
profane  accounts  of  him.  —  Character  of  Artaxerxes  in 
Scripture  agrees  with  that  given  by  Plutarch  and  Diod- 
orus.  —  The  organization  of  the  Persian  court  and 
kingdom,  as  depicted  in  Ezra,  Esther,  and  Nehemiah, 
in  close  accordance  with  profane  accounts  and  with  the 
Persian  monuments.  —  Charges  brought  against  the 
book  of  Esther  considered.  —  Omission  of  the  name  of 
God.  —  Opinions  of  Stuart,  Winer,  and  others.  —  Con- 
clusion. 

CHAPTER  VIII. 

Conclusion 220 

Results  of  the  inquiry :  —  1.  Very  little  contradiction 
between  the  sacred  and  the  profane.  —  2.  Large  amount 
of  minute  agreement.  —  Conclusions  to  be  drawn  from 
these  results. 

APPENDIX. 

1.  —  Story  of  the  Flood       .        .        .      •  .        ,        .  227 

2.  —  The  Moabite  Stone 233 


HISTOEICAL  ILLUSTEATIONS 

OF  THE 

OLD    TESTAMENT. 


CHAPTER    I. 

INTEODUCTORY. 

The  Religion  of  the  Bible,  unlike  almost 
all  other  religions,  has  its  roots  in  the  region 

of  Fact.       Other  religious  systems    Historic  charac- 
*=•  ,  '^  ter  of  Biblical 

are,  in  the  main,  ideal,  being  the  K«iigion. 
speculations  of  individual  minds,  or  the  grad- 
ual growth  of  a  nation's  fanciful  thought  dur- 
ing years  or  centuries.  The  Religion  of  the 
Bible,  though  embracing  much  that  is  in  the 
highest  sense  ideal,  grounds  itself  upon  ac- 
counts, which  claim  to  be  historical,  of  oc- 
currences that  are  declared  to  have  actually 
taken  place  upon  the  earth.  That  Jesus 
Christ;  was  born  under  Herod  the  Great, 
at  Bethlehem  ;  that  He  came  forward  as  a 
Teacher  of  religion ;  that  He  preached  and 
taught,  and  performed  many  "  mighty  works  " 
1 


2  HISTORICAL  ILLUSTRATIONS 

in  Galilee,  Samaria,  and  Judaea  during  the 
space  of  some  years ;  that  He  was  crucified 
by  Pontius  Pilate ;  that  He  died  and  was 
buried ;  that  He  rose  again  from  the  dead, 
and  ascended  before  the  eyes  of  his  disciples 
into  heaven,  —  these  are  the  most  essential 
points,  the  very  gist  and  marrow  of  the  New 
Testament.  And  these  are  all  matters  of 
simple  fact.i  And,  as  with  the  New  Testa- 
ment, so,  or  still  more  strikingly,  with  the 
Old.  Creation,  the  Paradisaical  state,  the 
Fall,  the  Flood,  the  Dispersion  of  Nations, 
the  Call  of  Abraham,  the  Deliverance  out  of 
Egypt,  the  Giving  of  the  Law  on  Sinai,  the 
conquest  of  Palestine,  the  establishment  of 
David's  kingdom,  the  Dispersion  of  Israel, 
the  Captivity  of  Judah,  the  return  under  Ezra 
and  Nehemiah,  —  all  these  are  of  the  nature 
of  actual  events,  objective  facts  occurring  at 

1  *  We  are  not  dependent,  therefore,  on  Christian  writers  and 
apologists  for  our  knowledge  of  the  main  facts  of  Christ's  life 
(his  birth,  claims,  teachings,  reputed  miracles,  crucifixion),  but 
learn  them  from  contemporary  heathen  and  Jewish  writers 
(Josephus,  Tacitus,  Pliny,  Suetonius),  just  as  we  learn  any 
other  historical  facts.  Yet,  on  the  other  hand,  we  are  not  to 
regard  the  testimony  of  such  heathen  witnesses  as  more  satisfac- 
torj-  than  that  of  the  early  Christian  martyrs  who  renounced 
heathenism  and  embraced  the  Gospel  (Clement,  Ignatius,  Poly- 
carp,  Justin  Martyr);  for  that  is  to  treat  them  as  less  worthy  of 
credence,  just  because  they  found  the  Christian  evidences  so 
strong  as  to  be  compelled  to  act  upon  them  at  the  expense  of  all 
possible  worldly  advantages.  Some  writers  on  the  Christian 
evidences  really  fall  into  that  inconsistency.  —  H. 


OF   THE   OLD   TESTAMENT.  3 

definite  times  and  in  definite  places,  condi- 
tioned, like  other  facts,  perceptible  to  sense, 
and  fitted  to  be  the  subject  of  historic  rec- 
ord. 

It  is  this  feature  of  our  religion,  so  markedly- 
characteristic  of  it,  that  brings  it  into  con- 
tact with  historic  science,  and  ren-  Hence,  a  con- 
ders  it  at  once  liable  to  be  tested  theBibieand 
by  the  laws  and  canons  of  historical  tory. 
criticism,  and  capable  of  receiving  illustration 
from  historic  sources.  The  Scriptural  writers, 
as  a  general  rule,  deal,  not  with  doctrines,  but 
with  occurrences.  The  very  Prophetic  Books 
have  a  historic  form,  and  bristle  with  dates 
and  with  the  names  of  contemporary  person- 
ages. The  revelation  given  to  us  may,  as 
Butler  observes,^  "  be  considered  as  wholly 
historical."  It  "  contains  a  kind  of  abridg- 
ment of  the  history  of  the  world."  Though 
mainly  concerned  with  the  religious  condition 
of  mankind,  it  embraces  also  "  an  account  of 
the  political  state  of  things,"  giving  us  "  a 
continual  thread  of  history  "  of  the  length  of 
several  thousand  years.  These  circumstances 
permit  a  comparison  between  Scriptural  and 
profane  history;  between  the  sacred  records 
which  are  inseparably  intertwined  with  our 
religion,  and  the  accumulated  stores  of  merely 

1  Analogy^  part  ii.  c.  vii.  pp.  310,  311  (Oxford  ed.  of  1833). 


4  HISTORICAL  ILLUSTRATIONS 

human  knowledge  concerning  the  world's 
past,  which  have  anyhow  come  into  our  pos- 
session. It  will  be  the  object  of  the  present 
essay  to  make  this  comparison,  so  far  as  the 
Scriptures  of  the  Old  Testament  are  con- 
scope  of  the  ccmed.  The  ''  thread  of  history  " 
present  work,  contained  in  the  earlier  portion  of 
our  sacred  volume  will  be  placed  side  by  side 
with  that  account  of  human  affairs  which 
purely  secular  history  furnishes.  The  various 
points  of  contact  between  the  two  Avill  be 
noted,  and  their  agreement,  or,  if  so  be,  their 
disagreement,  pointed  out.  It  is  not  intended 
to  conceal  or  make  light  of  difficulties ;  but  it 
is  believed  that  they  will  be  found  to  be  in- 
considerable. In  general  it  is  thought  that 
the  harmony  between  the  sacred  and  the  pro- 
fane will  be  striking,  and  that  it  will  be  espe- 
cially evident  that  the  most  authentic  sources 
of  profane  history  are  those  which  throw  the 
clearest  and  brightest  light  on  the  sacred  nar- 
rative. The  more  exact  the  knowledge  that 
we  obtain,  by  discovery  or  critical  research, 
of  the  remote  past,  the  closer  the  agreement, 
that  we  find  between  profane  and  Bibhcal 
history. 

And  here  a  remark  of  Butler's  may  well  be 
pressed  on  the  attention  of  the  reader.  But- 
ler notes  how  the  historical  character  of  our 


OF   THE   OLD   TESTAMENT.  O 

Bacred  records,  and  especially  the  great  length 
of  time  which  they  cover,  and  the  ^hg  o„ug  of 
great  extent  and  variety  of  the  sub-  gencL^betiSS 
jects  whereof  they  treat,  "  gives  the  {^rofone^his^""^ 
largest  scope  for  criticism,"  and,  Son'the'^ad- 
if  the  narrative  be  not  true,  should  ^^'^^^^y- 
render  the  task  of  confutation  easy.^  It  is 
indeed  inconceivable,  that  if  the  Biblical  his- 
tory, covering  the  space  of  time  which  it 
does,  and  dealing  as  it  does  with  the  affairs 
of  most  of  the  great  nations  of  antiquity, 
were  a  fictitious  narrative,  modern  histor- 
ical science,  with  its  searching  methods  and 
its  exact  and  extended  knowledge  of  the  past, 
should  not  have,  long  ere  this,  demonstrated 
the  fact,  and  completely  overthrown  the  his- 
torical authority  of  the  sacred  volume.  But 
it  is  not  even  pretended  that  this  has  been 
done.  Attacks  are  made  on  this  or  that  por- 
tion of  the  record,  on  names  and  numbers 
and  minute  expressions  which  it  is  contended 
are  inaccurate ;  but  no  one  pretends  to  show, 
as  it  should  be  easy  to  show,  if  the  history 
is  not  true,  that  it  is  irreconcilably  at  variance 
with  the  course  of  mundane  events  as  known 
to  us  from  other  sources.  The  progress  of 
our  knowledge  has  indeed  tended  very  re- 
markably of  late  years  in  the  opposite  direc- 

1  Analogy,  part  ii.  c.  vii.  p.  312. 


b  HISTORICAL  ILLUSTRATIONS 

tion.  As  the  stores  of  antique  lore  have  been 
unlocked,  and  our  acquaintance  with  the  an- 
cient world  has  increased  in  extent,  precision, 
and  accuracy,  it  has  become  more  and  more 
apparent  that  such  a  confutation  of  the  his- 
torical character  of  the  sacred  records  is  im- 
possible. Each  year  adds  something  to  the 
force  of  the  opposite  arguments.  Discoveries, 
like  that  of  the  Moabite  Stone,^  are  made  in 
the  most  unexpected  quarters.  If  scientific 
difl&culties  increase  upon  us,  historical  difficul- 
ties certainly  lessen.  Thus,  although  the 
onus  prohandi  should  be  on  our  adversaries, 
who  should  be  able  with  so  much  ease  to 
prove  our  Books  historically  untrue,  if  they 
were  untrue,  yet  the  Christian  Apologist  may 
now,  without  presumption,  enter  the  field 
himself,  and  apply  himself  to  the  task  of  con- 
firming faith,  or  even  dispelling  doubt,  by  the 
exhibition  of  a  harmony  which  seems  to  have 
reached  a  point  that  entitles  it  to  take  its 
place  among  the  Evidences  of  Religion. 

1  *  For  the  history  of  this  Moabite  Stone  (several  times  men- 
tioned in  this  volume)  and  its  value  as  a  historical  witness,  see 
Appendix  No.  2.  —  H. 


OF  THE   OLD  TESTAMENT. 


CHAPTER  n. 
GENESIS. 

History  proper  cannot  rightly  be  regarded 
as  going  back  to  the  first  origin  of  the  human 
race.     Of  the  various  acts  of  Crea-  Absence  of 

.  1    •        1        c  strictly  his- 

tion  which  culmmated  m  the  forma-  toncai  illustra- 
tions for  the 

tion  of  man,  there  could  be  "no  hu-  earliest  times. 
man  witnesses  ;  and  thus  no  historical  illustra- 
tion of  the  first  chapter  of  Genesis  is  possible. 
At  the  utmost,  such  illustration  must  com- 
mence after  the  human  race  has  been  cre- 
ated. Even  then  for  a  considerable  space  of 
time  history  proper  is  silent.  The  art  of 
embodying  articulate  speech  in  written  words 
appears  not  to  have  been  invented  by  man 
until  he  had  lived  for  many  centuries  upon  the 
earth ;  and  the  history  of  mankind  was,  con- 
sequently, for  ages  unrecorded,  passing  down 
from  generation  to  generation  by  oral  tra- 
dition, and,  as  always  happens  in  such  a 
case,  undergoing  change  in  the  process,  here 
being  slightly  modified,  there  almost  wholly 
transformed,  in  some  cases  fading  entirely 
away,  and  being  replaced  by  fables,  the  prod- 


ST 


HISTORICAL   ILLUSTRATIONS 


uct  of  the  imagination.  The  earliest  pro- 
fane records  that  deserve  the  name  of  history 
Want  partly      do  not  reach  back  within  two  thoa- 

Bupplicd  by  i        <•       i  •  i  •    i 

traditions.  sand  jears  ^  oi  the  time  at  which 
the  sacred  narrative  commences;  and,  con- 
sequently, it  is  impossible  either  to  test  or  to 
illustrate  that  narrative,  in  its  earlier  portion, 
by  a  comparison  with  records  which  for  that 
period  are  not  forthcoming.  The  utmost  that 
can  be  done  is  to  see  whether  among  the 
traditions  of  different  human  races  which  be- 
long to  a  time  anterior  to  history  proper, 
there  are  not  some  which  point  to  the  same 
facts  as  those  recorded  in  Scripture,  and  of 
whose  harmony  with  the  Hebrew  accounts 
no  other  origin  can  be  reasonably  assigned 
than  the  common  memory  of  actual  facts,  wit- 
nessed by  the  ancestors  of  the  different  races. 
The  first  great  fact  in  the  history  of  man- 
kuid,  as  placed  before  us  in  Genesis,  is  the 
primitive  innocence  of  our  race,  and  its  exist- 
ence in  a  delightful  region,  the  abode  of  purity 
and  happiness,  for  a  certain  space  after  its 
Wide-spread      crcatiou.     A  remembrance  of  this 

tradition  of  . 

Paradise.  blissiui  couditiou  seems  to  have  been 

1  This  number  must  be  taken  merely  as  a  minimum.  The 
years  assigned  in  Scripture  to  the  patriarchs,  reckoned  according 
to  the  lowest  account,  give  2,023  years  between  the  Creation  and 
the  call  of  Abraham.  Profane  history  does  not  commence  till 
about  that  time.  The  LXX.  enlarge  the  interval  to  3,279  years; 
and  it  may  have  been  still  longer. 


OF   THE    OLD   TESTAMENT.  9 

retained  among  a  large  number  of  peoples. 
The  Greeks  told  of  a  "  golden  age,"  when 
men  lived  the  life  of  the  gods,  a  life  free  from 
care,  and  without  labor  or  sorrow.  Old  age 
was  unknown  ;  the  body  never  lost  its  vigor ; 
existence  was  a  perpetual  feast,  without  a 
taint  of  evil.  The  earth  brought  forth  spon- 
taneously all  things  that  were  good  in  pro- 
fuse abundance ;  peace  reigned,  and  men 
pursued  their  several  employments  without 
quarrel.  Their  happy  life  was  ended  by  a 
death  which  had  no  pain,  but  fell  upon  them 
like  a  gentle  sleep. ^  In  the  Zendavesta, 
Yima,  the  first  Iranic  king,  lives  in  a  secluded 
spot,  where  he  and  his  people  enjoy  uninter- 
rupted happiness.  Neither  sin,  nor  folly,  nor 
violence,  nor  poverty,  nor  deformity  have  en- 
trance into  the  region ;  nor  does  the  Evil 
Spirit  for  a  while  set  foot  there.  Amid  odor- 
iferous trees  and  golden  pillars  dwells  the 
beautiful  race,  pasturing  their  abundant  cat- 
tle on  the  fertile  earth,  and  feeding  on  an 
ambrosial  food  which  never  fails  them.^  In 
the  Chinese  books  we  read,  that  "  during 
the  period  of  the  first  heaven,  the  whole  crea- 
tion enjoyed  a  state  of  happiness  :  everything 

1  Hesiod,  Op.  et  D.  11. 109-119. 

2  Vendidad,  Farg.   ii.  §§  4-41.     (See  the  Author's  Ancient 
Monarchies,  vol.  ii.  p.  341,  2d.  ed. ) 


10  HISTORICAL  ILLUSTRATIONS 

was  beautiful ;  everything  was  good ;  all  be- 
ings were  perfect  in  their  kind.  In  this  happy 
age,  heaven  and  earth  employed  their  virtues 
jointly  to  embellish  nature.  There  was  no 
jarring  in  the  elements,  no  inclemency  in  the 
air  ;  all  things  grew  without  labor,  and  mii- 
versal  fertility  prevailed.  The  active  and 
passive  virtues  conspired  together,  without 
any  effort  or  opposition,  to  produce  and  per- 
fect the  universe."  ^  The  literature  of  the 
Hindoos  tells  of  a  "  first  age  of  the  world, 
when  justice,  in  the  form  of  a  bull,  kept  her- 
self firm  on  her  four  feet ;  virtue  reigned ;  no 
good  which  mortals  possessed  was  mixed  with 
baseness ;  and  man,  free  from  diseases,  saw 
all  his  wishes  accomplished,  and  attained  an 
age  of  four  hundred  years."  ^  Traces  of  a 
similar  belief  are  found  among  the  Thibetans, 
the  Mongolians,  the  Cingalese,  and  others. 
Even  our  own  Teutonic  ancestors  had  a  glimpse 
of  the  truth  ;  though  they  substituted  for  the 
"  garden  "  of  Genesis  a  magnificent  drinking- 
hall,  glittering  with  burnished  gold,  where  the 
primeval  race  enjoyed  a  life  of  perpetual  fes- 
tivity, quaffing  a  delicious  beverage  from 
golden  bowls,  and  interchanging  with  one  an- 
other glad  converse  and  loyal  friendship.^ 

1  See  Faber's  IJorce  Mosaica,  p.  146. 

2  Kalisch,  Comment  on  Genesis^  p.  64.  8  Edda,  Fab.  vii 


OF   THE   OLD   TESTAMENT.  11 

The  races  which  thus  describe  the  primi- 
tive state  of  man  have  all  of  them  a  tradition 
of  a  Fall.  With  some  the  Fall  is  Tradition  of 
more  gradual  than  with  others.  *i^«^*'i- 
The  Greeks  pass  by  gentle  degrees  from  the 
golden  age  of  primeval  man  to  the  iron  one, 
which  is  the  actual  condition  of  human  kind 
when  the  first  writers  lived.  The  Hindoos, 
similarly,  bring  man,  through  a  second  and  a 
third  age,  into  that  fourth  one,  which  they 
recognize  as  existing  in  their  day.  But  with 
some  races  the  Fall  is  sudden.  In  the  Edda, 
corruption  is  suddenly  produced  by  the  bland- 
ishments of  strange  women,  who  deprive  men 
of  their  pristine  integrity  and  purity.  In  the 
Thibetan,  Mongolian,  and  Cingalese  tradi- 
tions, a  similar  result  is  brought  about  by  the 
spontaneous  development  of  a  covetous  tem- 
per. In  the  earliest  of  the  Persian  books,  the 
Fall  would  seem  to  be  gradual ;  ^  but  in  the 
later  writings,  which  are  of  an  uncertain  date, 
a  narrative  appears  which  is  most  strikingly 
in  accordance  with  that  of  Genesis.  The  first 
man  and  the  first  woman  live  originally  in 
purity  and  innocence.  Perpetual  happiness  is 
promised  to  them  by  Ormazd,  if  they  per- 
severe in  their  virtue.  They  dwell  in  a  gar- 
den, wherein  there  is  a  tree,  on  whose  fruit 

1  Vendidad,  Farg.  i. 


12  HISTORICAL  ILLUSTRATIONS 

they  feed,  which  gives  them  life  and  immor- 
tality. But  Ahriman,  the  Evil  Principle, 
envying  their  felicity,  causes  another  tree 
to  spring  up  in  the  garden,  and  sends  a 
\vicked  spirit,  who,  assuming  the  form  of  a 
serpent,  persuades  them  to  eat  its  fruit,  and 
this  fruit  corrupts  them.  Evil  feelings  stir  in 
their  hearts ;  Ahriman  becomes  the  object  of 
their  worship  instead  of  Ormazd ;  they  fall 
under  the  power  of  demons,  and  become  a 
prey  to  sin  and  misery.  If  we  could  certainly 
assign  this  narrative  to  a  time  anterior  to  the 
contact  of  Zoroastrianism  with  Judaism,  it 
would  constitute  a  most  remarkable  testi- 
mony, and  as  such  it  has  been  usual  to  adduce 
it.^  But  the  fact  that  it  appears  only  in  the 
later  books,^  and  the  very  close  resemblance 
which  it  bears  to  the  account  given  in  Gen- 
esis, render  it  probable  that  we  have  here, 
not  a  primitive  tradition,  but  an  infiltration 
into  the  Persian  system  of  religious  ideas  be- 
longing properly  to  the  Hebrews. 

The  part  taken  by  the  serpent,  as  Satan's 

1  See  Kalisch,  Comment,  on  Genesis,  p.  63;  and  compare 
Bishop  Harold  Browne  in  the  New  Commentary,  p.  48. 

*  Bishop  Browne  has  there  an  extended  note  "On  the  His- 
torical Character  of  the  Temptation  and  the  Fall."  —  H. 

2  The  account  to  which  Kalisch  and  Bishop  Browne  refer  is 
contained  in  the  Bundehesht,  which  belongs  at  the  earliest  to  the 
first  century  of  our  era  (Haug,  Ueher  die  Pehlewi  Sprache,  p 
30). 


OF   THE  OLD   TESTAMENT.  13 

mstrument  in  effecting  the  fall  of  man,  has 
been  regarded  by  many  as  the  ori- 
gin of  that  wide-spread  dread  and 
abhorrence  in  which  the  serpent  was  held, 
especially  in  the  East,  and  of  that  very  com- 
mon symbolism  by  which  the  same  noxious 
creature  was  made  the  special  emblem  of  the 
Evil  Principle.  But,  as  it  may  with  plausi- 
bility be  argued  that  the  instinctive  antipathy 
of  man  to  the  animal,  and  its  power  of  doing 
him  deadly  injury,  sufficiently  account  both 
for  the  feeling  and  for  the  symbolism,  the  evi- 
dence on  the  point  will  not  be  collected  in  the 
present  Essay. 

Patriarchal  longevity  presents  itself  as  one 
of  the  most  strikincr  of  the  facts  concerning: 
mankind  which  the  early  history  of  Tmiition  of 
the  Book  of  Genesis  places  before  longevity 
us.  Objections  are  brought  against  it  on 
grounds  which  are  called  scientific. ^  With 
these  the  historical  illustrator  has  nothing  to 
do ;  it  is  not  his  place  to  combat  them,  though 
he  may  feel  that  they  cannot  have  any  great 
value,  as  they  failed  to  convince  Haller  and 
Buff  on.  It  is  his  business  to  inquire  how  far 
the  history  or  traditions  of  mankind  confirm 
or  invalidate  the  fact  in  question,  and  to  place 
the  result  briefly  before  his  readers.     Now  it 

1  Bunsen,  Egypt's  Place  in  Universal  History,  vol.  iv  p.  391. 


14  HISTOEICAL   ILLUSTRATIONS 

is  beyond  a  doubt  that  there  is  a  large  amount 
of  consentient  tradition  to  the  effect  that  the 
life  of  man  was  originally  far  more  prolonged 
than  it  is  at  present,  extending  to  at  least 
several  hundreds  of  years.^  The  Babylonians, 
Egyptians,  and  Chinese  exaggerated  these 
hundreds  into  thousands.  The  Greeks  and 
Romans,  with  more  moderation,  limited  hu- 
man life  within  a  thousand  or  eight  hundred 
years.  The  Hindoos  still  further  shortened 
the  term.  Their  books  taught  that  in  the 
first  age  of  the  world  man  was  free  from  dis- 
eases, and  live  ordinarily  four  hundred  years ; 
in  the  second  age  the  term  of  life  was  reduced 
from  four  hundred  to  three  hundred  ;  in  the 
third  it  became  two  hundred  ;  and  in  the 
fourth  and  last  it  was  brought  down  to  one 
hundred.  So  certain  did  the  fact  appear  to 
the  Chinese,  that  an  Emperor  who  wi'ote  a 
medical  work  proposed  an  inquiry  into  the 
reasons  why  the  ancients  attained  to  so  much 
more  advanced  an  age  than  the  moderns.^ 

The  early  invention  of  the  arts,  recorded  in 
Gen.  iv.,  is  in  harmony  with  the  Greek  tradi- 
^  ,   .  tion,    according:   to  which   Prome- 

Early  inven-  '  o 

tion  of  the  arts,  thcus,  in  the  lufaucy  of  our  race, 
not  only  "  stole  fire  from  heaven,"  but  taught 

1  See  Aids  to  Faith,  Es^say  vi.  §  5,  pp.  278,  279. 

2  Couplet,  quoted  by  Faber,  florce  Mosaicce,  p.  120. 


OF   THE    OLD   TESTAMENT.  15 

men  "  all  the  arts,  helps,  and  ornaments  of 
life,"  ^  especially  the  working  in  metals.  It 
is  in  equal  agreement  with  the  Babylonian 
legend  of  Oannes,  ^  who,  long  before  the  Flood, 
instructed  the  Chaldaeans  both  in  art  and  in 
science,  "  so  that  no  grand  discovery  was  ever 
made  afterwards."  And  it  receives  confirma- 
tion from  the  fact  that  both  in  Egypt  and  in 
Babylonia  the  earliest  extant  remains,  which 
go  back  to  a  time  that  cannot  be  placed  long 
after  the  Flood,  show  signs  of  a  tolerably  ad- 
vanced civiKzation,  and  particularly  of  the 
possession  of  metallic  tools  and  implements. 

The  Flood  described  by  the  writer  of  Gene- 
sis, in  his  eighth  chapter,  is  now  generally 
allowed,  even  by  skeptics,  to  have  Traditions  of  a 

,  1  •    i.       •       1  .  A      i?  Delude  among 

been  an  historical  event.  A  few  aii  the  chief 
persons  indeed  still  speak  of  it  as  a  kind, 
myth,  and  believe  "  all  good  critics  "  to  be  of 
their  opinion ;  ^  but  when  such  writers  as 
Bunsen  and  Kalisch  maintain  the  historical 
character  of  the  catastrophe,  the  Biblical  apol- 
ogist may  well  assume  that  the  point  is  con- 
ceded. He  must  not,  however,  suppose  that 
all  controversy  on  the  subject  is  at  an  end. 
The  dispute  has  merely  entered  upon  a  new 

1  Grote,  History  of  Greece,  vol.  i.  p.  68,  ed.  of  1862. 

2  Berosus,  Fr.  i.  §  1. 

8  Davidson,  Introduction  to  the  Old  Testament,  vol.  i.  p.  187 


16  mSTOKICAL  ILLUSTRATIONS 

phase.  The  prevalent  modern  skepticism, 
forced  by  the  weight  of  traditional  evidence 
to  allow  the  reality  of  the  Noachian  Deluge, 
makes  light  of  it  as  a  mere  partial  catastro- 
phe, affecting  only  one  or  two  races,  and  so  as 
of  no  great  consequence  in  the  history  of  man- 
kind. It  is  of  the  essence  of  the  Biblical  nar- 
rative that  the  Deluge  was,  so  far  as  the 
human  race  was  concerned,  universal,  —  that 
it  destroyed  all  men  then  living,  except  the 
inmates  of  the  ark,  and  that  the  present  hu- 
man race  is  wholly  descended  from  those  in- 
mates. The  testimony  of  tradition  has  been 
alleged  in  support  of  the  view  that  only  some 
races  were  affected  by  it ;  but  an  unprejudiced 
consideration  of  the  whole  evidence  clearly 
shows  that  the  tradition  is  common  to  all  the 
chief  divisions  of  the  human  family.  That  it 
was  generally  held  by  the  Semites  and  the 
Indo-Europeans  (or  Aryans),  is  granted  ;  ^  but 
it  is  said  to  have  been  unknown  to  the  Ha- 
mites,  and  to  the  Turanians.  Were  this  true, 
the  fact  would  be  remarkable,  and  would  go 
far  to  prove  the  assertions  that  have  been 
based  upon  it.  But  the  alleged  fact  is  really 
the  reverse  of  the  truth.  The  Egyptians,  the 
leading  representatives  of  the  Hamites,  taught, 
"  not  that  there  had  been  no  deluge,  but  that 

1  Bunsen,  Egypt,  etc.,  voL  iv.  p.  464. 


OF   THE   OLD   TESTAMENT.  17 

there  had  been  several.  They  believed  that 
from  time  to  time,  in  consequence  of  the  an- 
ger of  the  gods,  the  earth  was  visited  by  a 
terrible  catastrophe.  The  agent  of  destruc- 
tion was  sometimes  fire,  sometimes  water.  In 
the  conflagrations,  all  countries  were  burnt 
up  but  Egypt,  which  was  protected  by  the 
Nile  ;  and  in  the  deluges,  all  were  submerged 
but  Egypt,  where  rain  never  fell.  The  last 
catastrophe,  they  said,  had  been  a  deluge,"  ^ 
which  took  place  about  eight  thousand  years 
before  the  visit  of  Solon  to  Amasis.  It  may 
be  true  that  in  the  recovered  literature  of 
ancient  Egypt  no  trace  appears  of  the  belief 
in  question ;  but  the  force  of  this  negative 
argument  is  far  too  slight  to  invalidate  the 
positive  testimony  of  Plato.^ 

[*  The  history  of  a  general  inundation,  as 
related  in  the  Mahabharata  and  other  In- 
dian Asiatic  writings,  affords  an  unmistakable 
agreement  with  the  Mosaic  ^vritings.  In  the 
translation  of  a  part  of  that  work  out  of  the 
Sanskrit,  the  eminent  orientalist.  Prof.  Bopp, 
states  the  substance  of  the  story  as  follows  : 
"  The  Lord  of  creatures,  Brahma,  the  highest 

1  See  Plato,  Timceus,  p.  21;  and  compare  Aids  to  Faith, 
Essay  vi.  §  2,  pp.  265,  266. 

2  *  For  additional  reasons  for  thinking  that  the  Egyptians  had 
a  knowledge  of  Noah's  Flood,  see  note  of  Mr.  Burgess  in  the 
Amer.  ed.  of  Smith's  Bible  Diet.  vol.  i.  p.  2187.  — H. 

2 


18  HISTORICAL  ILLUSTRATIONS 

existence,  appeared  to  a  pious  king  named 
Manus,  and  announced  to  him  the  impending 
deluge,  which  was  to  destory  everything.  He 
commanded  him  to  build  a  ship  and  in  the 
time  of  danger  to  enter  it,  and  to  take  with 
him  seeds  of  all  kinds,  as  they  would  be  named 
to  him,  separated  from  one  another.  Manus 
obeyed  the  command  of  the  deity,  and  brought 
all  seeds  into  the  ship,  into  which  he  himself 
then  entered.  But  the  ship,  guided  by  the 
deity,  swam  many  years  upon  the  sea,  until 
it  finally  settled  upon  the  highest  summit  of 
the  mountain  Himawan  (Himalaya),  when  it 
was  bound  fast  at  the  command  of  the  deity. 
This  summit  is  therefore  still  named,  at  tliis 
day,  Nau-Bandlianann  (i.  e,  ship-binding) ; 
and  from  Manus  descends  the  present  race  of 
mankind."  ^] 

With  respect  to  the  Turanians,  the  evidence 
of  belief  in  a  general  deluge  is  abundant.  In 
the  Chinese  traditions,  "  Fa-he,  the  reputed 
founder  of  Chinese  civilization,  is  represented 
as  escaping  from  the  waters  of  a  deluge  ;  and 
he  reappears  as  the  first  man  at  the  production 
of  a  renovated  world,  attended  by  his  wife, 
three  sons,  and  three  daughters,''''  ^  The  abo- 
riginal races  of  America,  now   generally  al- 

1  *  Translated  by  the  writer  from  Auberlen's  Die  GottUche 
Offtnharung  in  the  Bibl.  Sacra,  xxii.  p.  422  f.  —  H. 

2  Hardwick,  Christ  and  other  Masters,  part  iii.  p.  16. 


OF   THE  OLD   TESTAMENT.  19 

lowed  to  be  Turanians,  held  a  deluge  almost 
universally.  The  Mexicans  had  paintings, 
representing  the  event,  which  showed  a  man 
and  woman  in  a  boat,  or  on  a  raft,  a  mountain 
rising  above  the  waters,  and  a  dove  delivering 
the  gift  of  language  to  the  children  of  the 
saved  pair.^  The  Cherokee  Indians  had  a 
legend  of  the  destruction  of  mankind  by  a 
deluge,  and  of  the  preservation  of  a  single 
family  in  a  boat,  to  the  construction  of  which 
they  had  been  incited  by  a  dog.^  In  the 
islands  of  the  Pacific,  when  first  discovered  by 
Europeans,  a  similar  belief  prevailed.  "  Tra- 
ditions of  the  Deluge,"  says  Mr.  Ellis,  "  have 
been  found  to  exist  among  the  natives  of  the 
South  Sea  Islands,  from  the  earliest  periods 
of  their  history.  The  principal  facts  are  the 
same  in  the  traditions  prevailing  among  the 
inhabitants  of  the  different  groups,  although 
they  differ  in  several  minor  particulars.  In 
one  group  the  accounts  stated  that  Taarsa,  the 
principal  god  according  to  their  mythology, 
being  angry  with  men  on  account  of  their  dis- 
obedience to  his  will,  overturned  the  world 
into  the  sea,  when  the  earth  sunk  in  the  wa- 
ters, excepting  a  few  projecting  points,  which, 
remaining  above  its  surface,  constituted  the 

1  Prescott,  History  of  Mexico,  vol.  iii.  pp.  309,  310. 

2  Hardwick,  part  iii.  pp.  163,  164, 


20  HISTORICAL  ILLUSTRATIONS 

present  cluster  of  islands.  The  memorial  pre- 
served by  the  inhabitants  of  Eimeo  states, 
that,  after  the  inundation  of  the  land,  when 
the  water  subsided,  a  man  landed  from  a  canoe 
near  Tiatarpua,  in  their  island,  and  erected  an 
altar  in  honor  of  his  god.  The  tradition 
which  prevails  in  the  Leeward  Islands  is  in- 
timately connected  with  the  island  of  Raiatea." 
Here  the  story  was  that  a  fisherman  disturbed 
the  sea-god  with  his  hooks,  whereupon  the 
god  determined  to  destroy  mankind.  The 
fisherman,  however,  obtained  mercy,  and  was 
directed  to  take  refuge  in  a  certain  small 
islet,  whither  he  betook  himself  with  his  wife, 
child,  one  friend,  and  specimens  of  all  the 
domestic  animals.  The  sea  then  rose  and  sub- 
merged all  the  other  islands,  destroying  all 
the  inhabitants.  But  the  fisherman  and  his 
companions  were  unharmed,  and  afterwards 
removing  from  their  islet  to  Raiatea,  became 
the  progenitors  of  the  present  people.^  Again, 
the  Fiji  islanders  have  a  very  clear  and  dis- 
tinct tradition  of  a  deluge,  from  which  one 
family  only,  eight  in  number^  was  saved  in  a 
canoe. 2 

[*  Such  traditions  of  a  flood,  says  Liicken, 
"are,  if   possible,  more  common  in  the  New 

1  Ellis,  Polynesian  Researches,  vol.  ii.  pp.  57-59. 

2  Hardwick,  part  iii.  p.  185. 


OF   THE   OLD   TESTAMENT.  21 

World  tlian  in  the  Old.  The  form  in  which 
the  natives  relate  them  agrees  so  strikingly 
with  the  traits  of  the  Bible  history,  that  we 
cannot  blame  the  astonished  Spaniards,  the 
first  European  discoverers,  if  they  were  ready 
to  believe,  on  account  of  these  and  similar  tra- 
ditions, that  the  Apostle  Thomas  must  have 
preached  Christianity  there.  Between  the 
banks  of  the  Cassiquiare  and  the  Orinoco, 
hieroglyphic  figures  are  often  seen  at  great 
heights,  on  rocky  cliffs,  which  could  be  acces- 
sible only  by  constructing  very  lofty  scaffolds. 
When  the  natives  are  asked  how  these  figures 
could  be  sculptured,  they  answer  with  a  smile, 
as  if  relating  a  fact  of  which  a  white  man  only 
could  be  ignorant,  that  at  the  period  of  the 
great  waters,  their  fathers  went  to  that  height 
in  boats."  ^] 

To  conclude,  therefore,  that  the  Deluge,  in 
respect  of  mankind,  was  partial,  because  some 
of  the  great  divisions  of  the  human  family  had 
no  tradition  on  the  subject,  is  to  draw  a  con- 
clusion directly  in  the  teeth  of  the  evidence. 
The  evidence  shows  a  consentient  belief  —  a 
belief  which  has  all  the  appearance  of  being 
original  and  not  derived  —  among  members  of 
ALL   the  great  races  into  which  ethnologists 

1  *  See  the  writer's  Translation  from  Auberlen  in  Blbl.  Sacra, 
xxii.  p.  422.    The  article  contains  other  similar  testimonies.  — H. 


22  HISTORICAL  ILLUSTRATIONS 

have  divided  mankind.  Among  the  Semites, 
the  Babylonians,  and  the  Hebrews  —  among 
the  Hamites,  the  Egyptians  —  among  the 
Aryans,  the  Indians,  the  Armenians,  the 
Phrygians,  the  Lithuanians,  the  Goths,  the 
Celts,  and  the  Greeks  —  among  the  Tura- 
nians, the  Chinese,  the  Mexicans,  the  Red  In- 
dians, and  the  Polynesian  islanders,  held  the 
belief,  which  has  thus  the  character  of  a  uni- 
versal tradition  —  a  tradition  of  which  but  one 
rational  account  can  be  given,  namely,  that  it 
embodies  the  recollection  of  a  fact  in  which 
all  mankind  was  concerned. 

It  is  remarkably  confirmatory  of  the  Bibhcal 
narrative  to  find  that  it  unites  details,  scat- 
tered up  and  down  the  various  traditional  ac- 
counts, but  nowhere  else  found  in  combination. 
It  begins  with  the  warning,  which  we  find  also 
in  the  Babylonian,  the  Hindoo,  and  the  Cher- 
okee Indian  versions.  It  comprises  the  care  for 
animals,  which  is  a  feature  of  the  Babylonian, 
the  Indian  and  of  one  of  the  Polynesian  stories. 
It  reckons  the  saved  as  eight,  as  do  the  Fiji 
and  Chinese  traditions ;  as  in  the  Chinese 
story,  these  eight  are  a  man,  his  wife,  his  three 
sons,  and  three  daughters-in-law  (or  daugh- 
ters). In  assigning  a  prominent  part  to  birds 
in  the  experiments  made  before  quitting  the 
ark,  it   accords    (once  more)  especially  with 


OF  THE   OLD   TESTAMENT.  23 

the  tradition  of  the  Babylonians.  In  its  men- 
tion of  the  dove,  it  possesses  a  feature  pre- 
served also  by  the  Greeks  and  by  the  Mexi- 
cans. The  oHve-branch  it  has  in  common  with 
the  Phrygian  legend,  as  appears  from  the  fa- 
mous medal  struck  at  Apamea  Cibotus.^  Fi- 
nally, in  its  record  of  the  building  of  an  altar 
(Gen.  viii.  20),  immediately  after  the  saved 
quitted  the  ark,  it  has  a  touch  which  forms 
equally  a  portion  of  the  Babylonian  and  of 
one  Polynesian  story. 

Altogether,  the  conclusion  seems  irresistibly 
forced  upon  us  that  the  Hebrew  is  the  authen- 
tic narrative,  of  which  the  remainder  are  more 
or  less  corrupted  versions.  It  is  impossible  to 
derive  the  Hebrew  account  from  any  of  the 
other  stories,  while  it  is  quite  possible  to  de- 
rive all  of  them  from  it.  Suppose  the  Deluge 
a  fact,  and  suppose  its  details  to  have  been  such 
as  the  author  of  Genesis  declares  them  to  have 
been,  then  the  wide-spread  generally  accord- 
ant, but  in  part  divergent,  tradition  is  exactly 
what  might  have  been  anticipated  under  the 
circumstances.  No  other  theory  gives  even  a 
plausible  explanation  of  the  phenomena.^ 

1  A  representation  of  this  medal  is  given  in  Smith's  Biblical 
Dictionary,  vol.  ii.  p.  572;  and  vol.  iii.  p.  2184,  Amer.  ed.  It 
belongs  to  the  time  of  Septimius  Severus,  but  is  a  purely  heathen, 
not  a  Christian  or  Jewish  monument. 

2  *  Since  the  publication  of  this  volume  a  very  important  cou- 


24  HISTORICAL  ILLUSTRATIONS 

The  narrative  of  the  Flood  is  followed  in  the 
Book  of  Genesis  by  an  account  of  the  repeo- 
conciusions  of  P^^^g  ^f  the  earth  by  the  descend- 
nJi^-v"antfcV  ^^^^  ^^  Noah,  wlicreof  the  first 
patedia the ge-  feature  which  strikes  us  is  the  enu- 

nealogy  of  the 

sons  of  Noah,  mcration  of  the  various  races  under 
three  heads  —  "  the  sons  of  Japhet  "  (Gen.  x. 
3)  ;  "  the  sons  of  Ham  "  (ver.  6)  ;  and  "  the 
sons  of  Shem  "  (ver.  22).  It  is  not  distinctly 
declared  that  the  three  groups  were  separated 
by  ethnic  differences  ;  but,  given  the  existence 
of  ethnic  differences,  it  is  natural  to  conclude 
that  the  nations  declared  to  be  cognate  are 
those  between  which  there  was  most  resem- 
blance, and  consequently  that  the  document 
may  be  regarded  as  an  ethnological  arrange- 
ment of  mankind  under  three  heads.  Now 
here  it  is  at  once  noteworthy,  that  modern 
ethnological  science,  having  set  itself  by  a 
careful  analysis  of  facts  to  establish  a  classifi- 
cation of  races,  has  similarly  formed  a  triple 
division  of  mankind,  and  speaks  of  all  races  as 
either  Semitic,  Aryan,  or  Turanian  (Allophy- 
Iian).i      Moreover,   when   we    examine    the 

firmation  of  the  Mosaic  account  of  the  Deluge  has  been  brought 
to  light  by  Mr.  George  Smith,  of  the  British  Museum,  London. 
It  deserves  a  fuller  notice  than  can  be  given  to  it  in  a  note  here. 
See  Appendix  No.  1,  at  the  end  of  the  book,  for  a  summary  of 
the  contents  of  this  new  Assyrian  inscription.  —  H. 

1  See  Prichard,  Physical  History  of  Mankind ;  Bunsen,  Phi' 
losophy  of  Universal  Histoi'y ;  Max  Miiller,  Languages  of  the 
Seat  of  War,  etc. 


OF   THE   OLD   TESTAMENT.  25 

groups  which  the  author  of  the  tenth  chapter 
of  Genesis  has  thrown  together,  we  find,  to 
say  the  least,  a  most  remarkable  agreement 
between  the  actual  arrangement  which  he  has 
made,  and  the  conclusions  to  which  ethnolog- 
ical inquirers  have  come  from  a  consideration 
of  the  facts  of  human  language  and  physical 
type.  Setting  aside  the  cases  where  the  eth- 
nic names  employed  are  of  doubtful  applica- 
tion, it  cannot  reasonably  be  questioned  that 
the  author  has  in  his  account  of  the  sons  of 
Japhet,  classified  together  the  Cymry  or  Celts 
(Gomer),  the  Medes  (Madai),  and  the  lonians 
or  Greeks  (Javan),  thereby  anticipating  what 
has  become  known  in  modern  times  as  "  the 
Indo-European  theory,"  or  the  essential  unity 
of  the  Aryan  (Asiatic)  race  with  the  principal 
races  of  Europe,  indicated  by  the  Celts  and  the 
lonians.  Nor  can  it  be  doubted  that  he  has 
thrown  together,  under  the  one  head  of  "  chil- 
dren of  Shem,"  the  Assyrians  (Asshur),  the 
Syrians  (Aram),  the  Hebrews  (Eber),  and 
the  Joktanian  Arabs  (Joktan),  four  of  the 
principal  races  which  modern  ethnology  recog- 
nizes under  the  heading  of  "  Semitic."  Again, 
under  the  heading  of  "  sons  of  Ham,"  the  au- 
thor has  arranged  "  Cush,"  i.  e,  the  Ethio- 
pians ;  "Mizraim,"  the  people  of  Egypt; 
"  Sheba  and  Dedan,"  or  certain  of  the  south- 


26  HISTORICAL  ILLUSTRATIONS 

em  Arabs  ;  and  "  Nimrod,"  or  the  ancient 
people  of  Babylon  ;  four  races  between  which 
the  latest  hnguistic  researches  have  estab- 
lished a  close  affinity.  Beyond  a  question,  the 
tendency  of  modern  ethnological  inquiry  has 
been  to  establish  the  accuracy  of  the  document 
called  in  Genesis  the  Toldoth  Beni  Noah^  or 
"  Genealogy  of  the  sons  of  Noah  "  (chap.  x.),i 
and  to  create  a  feeling  among  scientific  ethnol- 
ogists that  it  is  a  record  of  the  very  highest 
value  ;  one  which,  if  it  can  be  rightly  inter- 
preted, may  be  thoroughly  trusted,  and  which 
is,  as  one  of  them  has  said,  "  the  most  authen- 
tic record  that  we  possess  for  the  affiliation  of 
nations."  ^ 

When  the  repeopling  of  the  earth  by  the 
descendants  of  Noah  had  reached  a  certain 
Traditions  of  poiut,  the  Biblical  narrative  informs 
Babel  and  con-  US  that  a  remarkable  event  pro- 
tongues,  duced  their  dispersion.  The  progeny 
of  Noah,  leaving  the  district  of  Ararat,  where 
the   ark   had  rested,    occupied   "  the  land  of 

1  *  The  celebrated  geographer,  Dr.  Karl  Hitter,  declared  that  of 
all  the  writings  of  antiquity  none  are  receiving  such  confirmation 
from  the  modern  researches  in  geography  and  ethnography  as 
this  tenth  chapter  of  Genesis  and  the  works  of  Herodotus.  —  H. 

2  Sir  H.  Rawlinson,  in  the  Journal  of  the  Asiatic  Society,  vol. 
XV.  p.  230.  Compare  Kalisch  ( Comment,  on  Genesis,  p.  194),  who 
speaks  of  "  this  unparalleled  list,  the  combined  result  of  reflection 
and  deep  research,  and  no  less  valuable  as  a  historical  document 
than  as  a  lasting  proof  of  the  brilliant  capacity  of  the  Hebrew 
mind." 


OF   THE   OLD   TESTAMENT.  27 

Shinar,"  or  the  great  alluvial  plain  towards 
the  mouths  of  the  Tigris  and  Euphrates.  Here 
they  resolved  to  build  themselves  a  city,  and  a 
tower  "  whose  top  should  reach  to  heaven," 
apparently  as  a  centre  of  unity.  But  it  was 
the  design  of  Providence  that  they  should 
spread,  form  numerous  nations,  and  so,"  re- 
plenish the  earth."  Accordingly,  by  miracle, 
their  language  was  confounded,  and  they  left 
off  to  build  the  city,  and,  being  scattered 
abroad,  fulfilled  the  intentions  of  their  Maker. 
Of  this  remarkable  circumstance  in  the  his- 
tory of  mankind,  a  traditional  remembrance 
seems  to  have  been  retained  among  a  certain 
number  of  nations.  In  Babylon  itself,  espe- 
cially, the  great  city  of  the  land  of  Shinar, 
there  was  a  belief  which  is  thus  expressed  by 
those  who  had  studied  its  records  :  "  At  this 
time  —  not  long  after  the  Flood  —  the  an- 
cient race  of  men  were  so  puffed  up  with 
their  strength  and  tallness  of  stature,  that 
they  began  to  despise  and  contemn  the  gods, 
and  labored  to  erect  that  very  lofty  tower 
which  is  now  called  Babylon,  intending 
thereby  to  scale  heaven.  But  when  the  build- 
ing approached  the  sky,  behold,  the  gods 
called  in  the  aid  of  the  winds,  and  by  their 
help  overturned  the  tower  and  cast  it  to  the 
ground  !     The  name  of  the  ruin  is  still  called 


28  HISTORICAL   ILLUSTRATIONS 

Babel ;  because  until  this  time  all  men  had 
used  the  same  speech,  but  now  there  was  sent 
upon  them  a  confusion  of  many  and  divers 
tongues."  1  It  may  have  been  also  a  recollec- 
tion of  the  event,  though  one  much  dimmed 
and  faded,  which  gave  rise  to  the  Greek  myth 
of  the  war  between  the  gods  and  the  giants, 
and  the  attempt  of  the  latter  to  scale  heaven 
by  piling  one  mountain  upon  another. 

A  further  tangible  evidence  of  the  con- 
fusion of  man's  speech  in  Babylonia,  or,  at 
Early  Babyio-  ^-uy  rate,  a  fact  which  harmonizes 
fnSlcatTor  completely  with  the  Scriptural 
SSh^in^the  statement  that  Babylonia  was  the 
country.  sccnc   of   the   confusion,   is   to   be 

found  in  the  character  of  the  language  which 
appears  on  the  earliest  monuments  of  the 
coimtry  —  monuments  which  reach  back  to  a 
time  probably  as  remote  as  B.  c.  2300,  and 
almost  certainly  anterior  to  the  date  of  Abra- 
ham. This  monumental  language  is  especially 
remarkable  for  its  mixed  character.  It  is 
Turanian  in  its  structure,  Cushite  or  Ethio- 
pian in  the  bulk  of  its  vocabulary,  while,  at  the 
same  time,  it  appears  to  contain  both  Semitic 
and  Aryan  elements.  The  people  who  spoke  it, 
must,  it  would  seem,  have  been  living  in  close 

1  Abyden.  ap.  Euseb.  Prccp.  Ev.  ix.  14.    Compare  Alex.  Poly- 
hist.  ap.  eundem,  ix.  15. 


OF   THE   OLD   TESTAMENT.  29 

contact  with  Aryan  and  Semitic  races,  while 
they  were  themselves  Turanian,  or  Turano- 
Cushite,  and  must  have  adopted  from  those 
races  a  certain  number  of  terms.  This  would 
be  natural  if  the  varieties  of  human  speech 
were  first  found  in  Babylonia,  and  if  the  dis- 
persion  of  mankind  took  place  from  thence, 
for  some  portions  of  a  race  that  migrates 
almost  always  remain  in  the  original  country. 
It  must  be  added  that,  except  in  Babylonia,  a 
mixed  character  is  not  observable  in  such  early 
languages  as  are  known  to  us,  which  are  com- 
monly either  distinctly  Turanian,  distinctly 
Aryan,  or  distinctly  Semite. 

History  proper,  which  has  been  defined  to 
be  "  the  history  of  states,"  ^  first  dawns  upon 
us  in  the  tenth  chapter  of  Genesis,  Eariy  cushite 
where  we  hear  for  the  first  time  Babylonia 
of  a  "  kingdom,"  of  cities,  and  of  monuments. 
a  "  mighty  one,"  who  appears  to  have  estab- 
lished an  important  monarchy  (Gen.  x.  8- 
10).  The  founder  of  this  monarchy  bears  the 
name  of  Nimrod  ;  its  site  is  the  land  of  Shinar, 
or  Babylonia  ;  its  ethnic  character  is  Cushite, 
or  Ethiopian,  for  Nimrod  is  ''  the  son  "  (i.  e, 
descendant)  "  of  Gush  ; "  its  great  cities  are 
four.  Babel  (or  Babylon),  Erech,  Accad,  and 

1  Heeren,  Ilandbuch  der  Geschichte  der  Staaten  des  Alter- 
thums,  §  1. 


so  HISTORICAL  ILLUSTRATIONS 

Calneh.  Here,  then,  we  come  for  the  first 
time  upon  something  which  history  proper 
ought  to  be  able  to  test,  and  here,  conse- 
quently, we  ask  with  interest,  "  What  has 
history  to  tell  us  ?  Does  it  indicate  that  we 
are  on  firm  ground  ;  that  we  have  to  do  with 
realities,  with  actual  solid  facts  ?  "  The  an- 
swer must  most  certainly  be  in  the  aifirmative. 
Recent  researches  in  Mesopotamia  have  re- 
vealed to  us,  as  the  earliest  seat  of  power  and 
civilization  in  Western  Asia,  a  Cushite  king- 
dom,^ the  site  of  which  is  Lower  Babylonia,  a 
main  characteristic  of  which  is  its  possession 
of  large  cities,  and  which  even  seems  in  an 
especial  way  to  affect,  in  its  political  arrange- 
ments, the  number  four.  Babel,  Accad,  and 
Erech  (or  Huruk),  are  names  which  occur  in 
the  early  geographic  nomenclature  of  this 
monarchy.  Nimrod  is  a  personage  in  its  my- 
thology. The  records  discovered  do  not,  prob- 
ably, mount  up  within  some  centuries  of  the 
foundation  of  the  kingdom  ;  but  they  present 
us  with  a  picture  in  perfect  harmony  with  the 
Scriptural  narrative  —  a  picture  of  a  state 
such  as  that  set  up  by  Nimrod  would  be  likely 

1  The  Cushite  character  of  the  primitive  Babylonian  mon- 
archy is  proved  by  the  close  analogy  of  the  language  with  that 
of  the  aboriginal  races  of  Abyssinia,  the  Galla,  Wolaiitsa,  etc. 


OF   THE   OLD   TESTAMENT.  31 

to  have  become  two  or  three  centuries  after 
its  foundation.^ 

Intimately  connected  with  the  account  given 
in  Gen.  x.  of  the  Babylonian  kingdom  of 
Nimrod,  is  a  sketch  of  a  sister,  or  Relations  of 

T  ,   ,  ,   .  ,  .  T     •     •  Assyria  to  Ba- 

dauffhter,  kinpfdom  m  an  aciionnns:  byionia  rejiiiy 

.  r\  f     1  1         T  ?)  1  sucli  as  stated 

region.  "  Out  oi  that  land  —  the  in  Genesis. 
land  of  Sliinar  —  we  are  told,  "  went  forth 
Asshur,^  and  builded  Nineveh,  and  the  streets 
of  the  city,  and  Calah,  and  Resen  between 
Nineveh  and  Calah ;  the  same  is  a  great  city." 
If  this  rendering  of   the  original  be  correct,^ 

1  *  The  modem  Arabs  ascribe  to  Nimrod  all  the  great  works  of 
modern  times,  such  as  the  Birs-Nimrud  near  Babylon,  Tel-Nim~ 
rud  near  Bagdad,  the  dam  of  Sur  el-Ninirud  across  the  Tigris 
below  Mosul,  and  the  well-known  mound  of  Nimrud  in  the  same 
neighborhood  (Smith's  Bibl.  Diet.  vol.  iii.  p.  2557,  Amer.  ed. ).  In 
these  traditions  we  catch  again  glimpses  of  the  great  city-builder 
and  warrior  siiadowed  forth  to  us  in  the  Bible-story.  —  H. 

2  *In  the  margin  (A.  V.)it  is, '*  he  "  (Nimrod)  "  went  out  into 
Assyria;"  and  so  De  Wette,  Tuch,  Knobel,  Delitsch,  Kalisch, 
and  others;  the  other  rendering  is  approved  by  the  Sept.,  Vulg., 
Luther,  Calvin,  and  many  of  the  older  writers.  But  whether 
Nimrod  or  Asshur  be  the  subject  of  the  verb  is  not  material  to 
the  point  at  issue;  for  essentially  the  same  ethnographic  and 
linguistic  affiliation  is  proved  in  the  one  case  as  the  other.  — H. 

8  The  rendering  is  that  of  the  Septuagint,  the  Vulgate,  and 
the  ancient  Syriac  versions.  It  is  approved  by  J.  D.  Michselis, 
by  Dathe,  Rosenmliller,  and  Von  Bohlen.  Kalisch  and  others 
prefer  the  rendering  in  the  margin  of  our  Bibles. 

*Our  English  Bible  has  also  here  "the  streets  of  the  city,"  in 
the  margin,  but  "  the  city  Rehoboth  "  in  the  text.  The  former 
perhaps  suggests  an  idea  of  the  greatness  of  Nineveh  (Jon.  iii. 
3;  iv.  11)  which  the  other  does  not,  but  seems  out  of  place  here 
where  all  the  accompanying  terms  are  proper  names.  Most 
critics  prefer  "  Rehoboth-Ir,"  the  name   of  a  distinct   city  of 


32  HISTORICAL   ILLUSTRATIONS 

we  have  here  a  statement  that  Asshur,  or  the 
Assyrian  nation,  having  previously  dwelt  in 
Babylonia,  "  went  out,"  or  retired  before  the 
Cushites,  and,  proceeding  to  the  northward, 
founded  at  some  subsequent  time  the  great 
Assyrian  cities,  Nineveh,  Calah,  and  Resen. 
In  a  later  part  of  the  chapter,  the  Assyrians 
are  declared  to  be  Semites  (ver.  22),  closely 
connected  by  blood  with  the  Syrians  and  the 
Hebrews.  Of  this  entire  account,  the  most 
remarkable  points  are,  (1)  the  contrast  of 
ethnic  character  noted  as  existing  between  the 
two  neighboring  peoples  ;  (2)  the  priority  as- 
cribed to  Babylon  over  Nineveh,  and  to  the 
primitive  Babylonian  over  the  Assyrian  king- 
dom ;  and  (3)  the  derivation  of  the  Assyriansi 
from  Babylonia,  or,  in  other  words,  the  state- 
ment that  having  been  originally  inhabitants* 
of  the  low  country,  they  emigrated  north- 
wards, leaving  their  previous  seats  to  a  peoph 
of  a  different  origin.  Till  within  a  few  yeara 
these  statements  seemed  to  involve  great  di/h  - 
culties.  Almost  all  ancient  writers  spoke  or 
the  Babylonians  and  'Assyrians  as  kindro.d 
races,  if  not  even  as  one  people.  Those  who 
professed  to  be  acquainted  with   their   early 

that  neig^hborhood,  and  one  of  the  dependencies  of  Nineveh. 
See  De  VVette's  Uebersetzimg des  A.  Test.,  and  Arnaud's  French 
Version  (1866).     See  Dr.  Conant  on  Genesis  x.  11.  —  H. 


OF   THE   OLD   TESTAMENT.  33 

history  declared  that  Assyria  was  the  original 
seat  of  empire ;  that  Nineveh  was  built  before 
Babylon  ;  and  that  the  latter  city  owed  its 
origin  to  an  Assyrian  princess,  who  conquered 
the  country  and  built  there  a  provincial  capi- 
tal.^ It  is  one  of  the  main  results  of  the  re- 
cent Mesopotamian  researches  to  have  entirely 
demolished  this  view,  which  rests  really  on 
the  sole  authority  of  Ctesias.  The  recovered 
monuments  show  that  the  Mosaical  account  is, 
in  all  respects,  true.  The  early  Babylonians 
are  proved  to  have  been  of  an  entirely  dis- 
tinct race  from  the  Assyrians,  whose  language 
is  Semitic,  while  that  of  their  southern  neigh- 
bors is  Cushite.  A  Babylonian  kingdom  is 
found  to  have  flourished  for  centuries  before 
there  was  any  independent  Assyria,  or  any 
such  city  as  Nineveh.''^  With  respect  to  the 
movement  of  the  Assyrians  northwards,  the 
evidence  is  less  direct ;  but  there  are  not  want- 
ing some  decided  indications  of  it.  The  char- 
acter of  the  Assyrian  architecture  is  such  as 
to  render  it  almost  certain  that  their  style  was 
formed  in  a  low,  flat  alluvium,  like  that  of 
Chaldaea.  Their  mode  of  writing,  and  most 
of  their  religion,  are  derived  from  the  Baby- 

1  See  Diod.  Sic.  ii.  1-20. 

2  See  Lenormant,  Manuel  d'Histoire  Ancienne  de  V  Orient 
torn.  ii.  pp.  16-43. 

3 


34  HISTORICAL  ILLUSTRATIONS 

Ionian.  They  themselves  always  regard  Bab- 
ylon as  the  true  home  of  most  of  their  gods, 
and  are  anxious  to  sacrifice  at  Babylonian 
shrines,  as  those  at  which  the  gods  are  most 
accessible.  There  is  reason  to  believe  that  in 
many  instances  the  Assyrians  transported  their 
dead  into  Babylonia,  anxious  that  they  should 
rest  in  what  they  regarded  as  their  true 
country. 1  The  spread  of  the  race,  after  their 
native  history  commences,  is  northwards,  and 
the  capital  is  twice  moved  in  this  direction  — 
from  Asshur  (Kileh-Sherghat)  to  Calah 
(Nimrud),  and  from  Calah  to  Nineveh  (Koy- 
unjik).  Altogether,  though  the  evidence  on 
the  third  point  is  merely  circumstantial,  it  is 
perhaps  as  convincing  to  a  candid  mind  as  the 
direct  testimony  which  establishes  the  former 
two. 

From  the  general  account  of  mankind, 
which  has  occupied  him  for  eleven  chapters, 
the  author  of  Genesis  turns,  in  ch.  xii.,  to  the 
history  of  an  individual,  the  progenitor  of  the 
chosen  race,  to  which  God  gave  the  first  writ- 
Some  points  in  ^eu  rcvclation.  It  was  not  to  be 
Abrahara'?L-''^  expcctcd  that  prof auc  history  would 
Srfrom"  pS^  take  notice  of  this  personage,  who 

fane  history.        ^^^^    ^£    small    aCCOUUt,  CXCCptiug  tO 

1  Arrian.  Exp.  Alex.  vii.  22;  Loftus,  Chaldaa  and  Susianaf 
p.  199. 


OF   THE   OLD   TESTAMENT.  35 

a  single  insignificant  people,  namely,  the  He- 
brews. Joseplius  indeed  imagined  that  the 
Babylonian  history  of  Berosus  contained  a 
mention  of  him  ;  ^  but  this  is,  at  any  rate,  un- 
certain ;  and  the  only  satisfactory  illustrations 
from  profane  sources,  of  which  the  history  of 
Abraham  admits,  will  concern  persons  and 
countries  with  which  he  was  brought  into  con- 
tact rather  than  himself  or  his  own  adven- 
tures.2  On  two  occasions  in  his  Hfe  the 
patriarch  came  into  connection  with  royal 
personages,  and  with  countries  which  play 
an  important  part  in  the  world's  early  his- 
tory. We  may  reasonably  inquire  whether 
these  countries  and  personages  are  represented 
agreeably  to  the  tenor  of  ancient  history,  or 
the  contrary. 

The  first  of  the  two  occasions  is  the  follow- 
ing.    Abraham  is  living  as  a  nomad  chief  in 
Palestine,  when  there  occurs  a  se-  condition  of 
vere  famine,  which  induces  him  to  SS'Vf'Abra- 
take  refuge  in  Egypt.     There  the  *'^°'- 
king  of  the  country,  who  is  called  Pharaoh, 

1  Ant.  Jud.  i.  7,  §  2. 

2  Accounts  of  Abraham  were  given  by  several  of  the  later 
Greek  writers,  as  Eupolemus,  Artapanus,  Nicolaus  Damascenus, 
and  others ;  but  these  writers  drew  probably  from  Genesis  (see 
Rawlinson's  Bampton  Lectures  iorlSbd,  p.  70). 

*  An  American  edition  of  the  Lectures  was  published  by  Gould 
and  Lincoln,  Boston,  1860.  —  H. 


36  HISTORICAL   ILLUSTRATIONS 

hearing  of  the  beauty  of  Abraham's  wife, 
whom  he  has  represented  as  his  sister,  sends 
for  her,  intending  to  marry  her ;  but  before 
the  marriage  is  consummated,  discovering  her 
real  relationship  to  the  patriarch,  he  rebukes 
him  and  sends  the  pair  away.  The  narrative 
is  very  brief ;  but  we  learn  from  it :  (1.)  That 
Egypt  was  already  under  a  settled  govern- 
ment, having  a  king,  and  "  princes "  who 
acted  as  the  king's  subordinates.  (2.)  That 
the  name  or  title  of  the  monarch  was  one 
which  to  the  ears  of  the  Hebrews  sounded 
"  Pha-ra-oh."  (3.)  That  the  country  was 
one  to  which  recourse  was  naturally  had  by 
the  inhabitants  of  neighboring  lands  in  a  time 
of  scarcit3\  Now  on  all  these  points  the 
sacred  narrative  is  in  harmony  with  profane 
sources.  History  Proper,  the  "  history  of 
states,"  begins  with  Egypt,  where  there  is 
reason  to  believe  that  a  settled  government 
was  established,  and  monarchical  institutions 
set  up,  at  an  earlier  date  than  in  any  other 
country.^ 

1  Herodotus,  Diodorus,  and  the  Greek  writers  generally  give 
an  antiquity  to  the  Egyptian  kingdom  very  much  beyond  that 
which  they  ascribe  to  any  other.  An  extreme  antiquity  was 
claimed  by  the  Egyptians  themselves.  Among  moderns,  some 
allow  these  extreme  claims.  Even  those  who  most  decidedly 
disallow  them  still  admit  the  priority  of  the  Egyptian  over  all 
other  known  kingdoms. 


OF  THE   OLD   TESTAMENT.  37 

That  a  name,  or  title,  near  to  Pharaoh, 
might  be  borne  by  an  Egyptian  king,  appears 
from  Herodotus  ;  ^  and  modern  hieroglyphic 
research  has  pointed  out  more  than  one  suita- 
ble title,^  which  Hebrews  might  represent  by 
the  characters  found  in  Genesis.  The  charac- 
ter of  Egypt  as  a  granary  of  surrounding  na- 
tions is  notorious ;  and  this  character  has  at- 
tached to  her  throughout  the  entire  course  of 
her  history.  The  narrative  of  Gen.  xii.  10- 
20,  therefore,  brief  as  it  is,  contains  at  least 
three  points  capable  of  confirmation  or  refuta- 
tion from  profane  sources,  and  on  all  these 
points  those  sources  confirm  it. 

The  other  event  in  the  life  of  Abraham 
which  receives  some  illustration  from  pro- 
fane history,  is  the  account  which  is  po^g^  ^f  ^Aum 
given  in  Gen.  xiv.  of  his  rescue  of  chedoMaom- 
Lot,  his  nephew,  from  the  hands  of  ^^' 
Chedor-laomer,  king  of  Elam.  It  appears,  by 
the  narrative  of  this  chapter,  that  in  the  in- 

1  Herod,  ii.  111. 

2  "Pharaoh  "  has  been  explained  as  PA'  ouro,  "the  king"; 
and  again  as  Ph'  Jia,  "  the  Sun,"  which  was  a  title  borne  by 
many  Egyptian  monarchs.  But  the  best  hieroglyphical  scholars 
now  regard  it  as  the  equivalent  of  the  Egyptian  Peran,  or 
Perao,  "the  great  house,"  which  is  "the  regular  title  of  the 
Egyptian  kings"  {De  Rouge). 

*  "  Pharaoh  "  has  its  analogy  therefore,  in  that  of  "Sublime 
Porte  "  as  one  of  the  titles  of  the  Grand  Sultan  of  Turkey.  At 
all  events  it  is  not  to  be  regarded  as  a  proper  name.  —  H. 


88  HISTORICAL  ILLUSTRATIONS 

terval  between  the  time  of  Nimrod  and  that 
of  Abraham,  power  had  passed  from  the 
hands  of  the  Babylonians  into  those  of  a 
neighboring  nation,  the  Elamites,  who  ex- 
ercised a  suzerainty  over  the  lower  Mesopo- 
tamian  country,  and  felt  themselves  strong 
enough  to  make  warlike  expeditions  into  the 
distant  land  of  Palestine.  The  king  of  Elam 
in  the  time  of  Abraham  was  Chedor-laomer 
(Chedol-logomer  LXX.).  Assisted  by  his 
•vassal-monarchs,  Amraphel,  king  of  Shinar, 
Arioch,  king  of  Ellasar  (or  Larsa),  and  Tidal 
(or  Thargal  LXX.),  "king  of  nations,"  he 
invaded  Palestine,  defeated  the  princes  of  the 
country  in  a  battle  near  the  Dead  Sea,  and 
forced  them  to  become  his  subjects.  After 
twelve  years,  however,  they  revolted,  and  a 
second  expedition  was  led  by  Chedor-laomer 
into  the  country,  which  resulted  in  another 
defeat  of  the  Palestinian  monarchs,  in  the 
plunder  of  Sodom  and  Gomorrha,  and  in  the 
capture  of  Lot.  Upon  hearing  of  this,  Abra- 
ham armed  his  servants,  three  hundred  and 
eighteen  in  number,  and  assisted  by  a  body 
of  Amorites,  went  in  pursuit  of  the  retiring 
army,  hung  on  its  rear,  dealt  it  some  severe 
blows,  and  recovered  his  nephew,  together 
with  many  other  prisoners  and  much  booty. 
Of  the   actual   expeditions   here   narrated, 


OF  THE   OLD   TESTAMENT.  39 

profane  history  contains  no  account.  But  the 
change  in  the  position  of  Babylon,  the  rise  of 
the  Elamites  to  power  and  preeminence,  and 
the  occurrence  about  this  time  of  Elamitic  ex- 
peditions into  Palestine  or  the  adjacent  dis- 
tricts, are  witnessed  to  by  documents  recently 
disinterred  from  the  mounds  of  Mesopotamia. 
The  name,  too,  of  the  Elamitic  king,  though 
not  yet  actually  found  on  any  monument,  is 
composed  of  elements  both  of  which  occur  in 
Elamite  documents  separately,  and  is  of  a 
type  exactly  similar  to  other  Elamitic  names 
of  the  period.  To  give  the  evidence  more 
fully,  it  is  stated  in  an  inscription  of  Asshur- 
bani-pal,  the  son  of  Esar-haddon,  that  1635 
years  before  his  own  capture  of  Susa,  or  about 
B.  c.  2286,  Kudur-Nakhunta,  then  king  of 
Elam,  led  an  expedition  into  Babylonia,  took 
the  towns,  plundered  the  temples,  and  carried 
off  the  images  of  the  gods  to  his  own  capital, 
where  they  remained  to  the  time  of  the  As- 
syrian conquest.^  From  Babylonian  docu- 
ments of  a  date  not  much  later  (B.  c.  2200- 
2100),  it  appears  that  an  Elamitic  dynasty 
had  by  that  time  been  established  in  Babylo- 
nia itself,  and  that  a  king  called  Kudur-Ma- 
buk,  an  Elamite  prince,  who  held  his  court  at 

1  G.  Smith  in  Zeitschrift  fiir  jEgyptischc  Sjprache,  Novem- 
ber 1868,  p.  116. 


40  HISTORICAL  ILLUSTRATIONS 

Ur,  in  Lower  Chaldsea,  carried  his  arms  so  far 
to  the  westward,  that  he  took  the  title  of 
"  Ravager  of  the  West,"  or  "  Ravager  of 
Syria,"  —  a  title  which  is  found  inscribed  upon 
his  bricks.  The  element  Kudur^  which  com- 
mences the  name  of  this  prince,  and  also  that 
of  Kudur-Naklumta,  is  identical  with  the  He- 
brew Chedor^  while  Lagamer  is  elsewhere 
found  as  an  Elamitic  god,  which  is  the  case 
also  with  Mahuh  and  Nakhunta,  Thus  Che- 
dor-laomer  (Kudur-Lagamer)  is  a  name  of  ex- 
actly the  same  type  with  Kudur-Nakhunta 
and  Kudur-Mabuk ;  its  character  is  thoroughly 
Elamitic  ;  and  it  is  appropriate  to  the  time  at 
which  the  writer  of  Genesis  places  the  mon- 
arch bearing  it. 

The  events  related  from  the  fourteeenth  to 
the  thirty-ninth  chapter  of  Genesis  are  alto- 
No  further  ii-  gather  of  SO  private  a  nature,  that 
Efmeof*"^  profane  history  could  scarcely  be 
Joseph.  expected  to  notice  them.     Our  in- 

formation moreover  with  respect  to  the  time 
is  scanty,  and  scarcely  extends  to  Palestine, 
the  scene  of  the  events  narrated.  When, 
however,  we  come  to  the  history  of  Joseph, 
we  are  once  more  brought  into  contact  with 
the  important  kingdom  of  Egypt,  a  kingdom 
of  which,  even  at  this  remote  date,  we  have 
considerable  knowledge,  derived  in  part  from 


OF   THE   OLD   TESTAMENT.  41 

ancient  authors,  in  part  from  the  native  monu- 
ments, which  occasionally  (it  is  believed)  reach 
back  to  this  remote  period.  Here,  then,  pro- 
fane history  may  once  more  be  applied  to  test 
the  veracity  of  the  narrative  ;  and  it  may  be 
inquired  whether  the  Egypt  of  Joseph  agrees 
or  disagrees  with  the  Ancient  Egypt  of  the 
monuments  and  the  old  classical  writers. 

Now  the  chief  features  of  the  Egypt  de- 
picted in  the  later  chapters  of  Genesis  seem 
to    be   the  following :     The    mon-  Minute  de- 

,  .      1   •      /^  ••  i.'  scription  of 

arcny,  noted  in  bren.  xii.,  contniues.  Egypt  in  the 
The  king  still  bears  the  title  of  of  Genesis. 
"Pharaoh."  He  is  absolute,  or  nearly  so, 
committing  men  to  prison  (xl.  3),  and  releas- 
ing them  (lb.  21),  or,  if  he  please,  ordering 
their  execution  (lb.  22)  ;  appointing  officers 
over  the  whole  land,  and  taxing  it  apparently 
at  his  pleasure  (lb.  34)  ;  raising  a  foreigner 
suddenly  to  the  second  position  in  the  king- 
dom, and  requiring  all,  without  exception,  to 
render  him  obedience  (lb.  41-44).  At  the 
same  time  the  king  has  counselors,  or  minis- 
ters, "  elders  of  his  house  "  (1.  7),  and  others, 
whose  advice  he  asks,  and  without  whose  sanc- 
tion he  does  not  seem  to  act  in  important 
matters  (xli.  37,  38).  His  court  is  organized 
after  the  fashion  of  later  Oriental  monarchies. 
He  has  a  body-guard,  under  a  commander  or 


42  HISTORICAL  ILLUSTRATIONS. 

'*  captain,'*  one  of  whose  chief  duties  is  to  ex- 
ecute the  sentences  which  he  pronounces  upon 
offenders  (xxxvii.  36).  He  has  a  train  of 
confectioners,  at  the  head  of  whom  is  a  "  chief 
confectioner "  (xl.  2),  and  a  train  of  cup- 
bearers, at  the  head  of  whom  is  a  "  chief  cup- 
bearer "  (lb.).  He  rides  in  a  chariot,  and  all 
men  bow  the  knee  before  him  (xli.  43).  The 
state  of  Egypt  is  one  of  somewhat  advanced 
civilization.  There  are  distinct  classes  of 
soldiers  (xxxvii.  36),  priests  (xlvii.  22),  phy- 
sicians (1.  2),  and  herdsmen  (xlvi.  34  ;  xlvii. 
6).  There  is  also  a  class  of  "  magicians " 
(xli.  8),  or  "  sacred  scribes,"  who  may  be 
either  a  subdivision  of  the  priests,  or  form  a 
distinct  profession.  The  name  given  to  this 
last  class  implies  that  writing  is  practiced. 
Among  other  indications  of  advance  in  civili- 
zation are,  the  mention  of  "fine  linen,"  as 
worn  by  some  (lb.  42),  of  a  golden  neck- 
chain  (lb.),  a  silver  drinking-cup  (xliv.  2), 
wagons  (xlv.  21),  chariots  (1.  9),  a  cofl&n,  or 
mummy-case  (lb.  26),  and  the  practice  of 
embalming  (lb.  2,  26).  Among  special  pecul- 
iarities of  the  nation  are  (1),  the  position  of 
the  priests,  which  is  evidently  very  exalted 
(xli.  45),  and  more  particularly  their  privi- 
lege with  respect  to  their  lands,  which  they 
hold  by  a  different  tenure  from  the  rest  of  the 


OF  THE   OLD   TESTAMENT.  43 

people  (xlvii.  22)  ;  (2)  the  existence  of  cus- 
toms implying  strong  feelings  with  respect 
to  purity  and  impurity,  and  a  great  dread  of 
material  defilement  (xliii.  32)  ;  (3),  a  special 
dislike,  or  contempt,  for  the  occupation  of 
herdsmen  ;  and  (4),  a  greater  liberty  with 
respect  to  the  intermixture  of  the  sexes  than 
is  common  in  the  East,  with  a  consequent 
licentiousness  in  the  conduct  of  the  women 
(xxxix.  7-12).  Other  noticeable  points  are, 
the  great  fertility  of  the  soil,  the  existence  of 
numerous  granaries  (xli.  56^,  the  practice  of 
carrying  burdens  upon  the  head  (xl.  16)  ;  the 
use,  by  the  monarch,  of  a  signet-ring  (xli. 
42)  ;  the  employment  of  bought  slaves  (xxxix. 
1)  ;  the  importation  of  spices  from  Arabia 
(xxvii.  25)  ;  the  use  of  stewards  (xxxix.  41 ; 
xliv.  1)  ;  the  washing  of  guests'  feet  (xliii. 
24)  ;  the  practice  of  sitting  at  meals  (lb.  38) ; 
the  use  of  wine  (xl.  11 ;  xliii.  34),  and  meat 
(xliii.  16)  ;  and  the  employment  of  some 
mode,  which  is  not  explained,  of  divination  by 
cups  (xliv.  5). 

It  may  be  broadly  stated  that  in  this  entire 
description  there  is  not  a  single  feature  which 
is  out  of  harmony  with  what  we  know  of  the 
Egypt  of  this  remote  period  from  other  sources. 
Nay,  more,  almost  every  point  in  it  is  confirmed 
either  by  the  classical  writers,  by  the  monu- 


44  HISTORICAL  ILLUSTRATIONS 

ments,  or  by  both.  The  king's  absohite  au- 
compiete  con-    thority    appears    abundantly   from 

firmation  of  . 

the  description  Herodotus,    Diodorus,    and    others. 

from  profane 

sources.  He    cnacted   laws,   imposed   taxes, 

administered  justice,  executed  and  pardoned 
offenders  at  his  pleasure.^  He  had  a  body- 
guard, which  is  constantly  seen  on  the  sculp- 
tures, in  close  attendance  upon  his  person.^ 
He  was  assisted  in  the  management  of  state 
affairs  by  the  advice  of  a  council,  consisting  of 
the  most  able  and  distinguished  members  of 
the  priestly  order.^  His  court  was  magnificent, 
and  comprised  various  grand  functionaries, 
whose  tombs  are  among  the  most  splendid  of 
the  early  remains  of  Egyptian  art.*  When  he 
left  his  palace  for  any  purpose,  he  invariably 
rode  in  a  chariot.  His  subjects,  wherever  he 
appeared,  bowed  down  or  prostrated  them- 
selves.^ With  respect  to  the  early  civilization 
of  Egypt,  it  is  especially  noted  by  those  conver- 
sant with  the  subject,  that  the  earliest  sculp- 
tures extant,  even  those  anterior  to  the  pyra- 
mid period,  which  can  scarcely  be  later  than 

1  See  Wilkinson,  Ancient  Egyptians,  voL  ii.  pp.  22,  23 ;   and 
compare  Herod,  ii.  136,  177;  Diod.  Sic.  i.  79,  etc. 

2  liosellini,  Monumenti  deW  Egitto,  vol.  ii.  pp.  201,  202. 

3  Diod.  Sic.  i.  73. 

4  Lenormant,  Manuel  d'Histoire  Ancienne  de  V  Orient,  torn. 
i.  pp.  333,  334. 

6  Wilkinson,  vol.  ii.  p.  24.     "  These  prostrations,"  he  says, 
*'  are  frequently  represented  in  the  sculptures." 


OF   THE    OLD   TESTAMENT.  45 

B.  c.  2400  or  2300,  contain  traces  of  a  prog- 
ress and  advance  which  are  most  striking,  and 
indeed  surprising.  "  We  see  no  primitive 
mode  of  life,"  says  Sir  G.  Wilkinson,  "  no 
barbarous  customs ;  not  even  the  habit,  so 
slowly  abandoned  by  all  people,  of  wearing 
arms  when  not  on  military  service ;  nor  any 

archaic   art In   the   tombs   of   the 

pyramid-period  are  represented  the  same 
fishing  and  fowling  scenes ;  the  rearing  of 
cattle,  and  wild  animals  of  the  desert ;  the 
scribes  using  the  same  kind  of  reed  for  writ- 
ing on  the  papyrus ;  the  same  boats ;  the  same 
mode  of  preparing  for  the  entertainment  of 
guests ;  the  same  introduction  of  music  and 
dancing ;  the  same  trades,  as  glass-blowers, 
cabinet-makers,  and  others  ;  as  well  as  similar 
agricultural  scenes,  implements,  and  grana- 
ries."^ "  Les  representations  de  cette  tombe," 
says  M.  Lenormant,  speaking  of  one  more  an- 
cient than  the  Great  Pyramid,  "  nous  montrent 
la  civilisation  Egyptienne  aussi  completement 
organisee  qu'elle  I'etait  au  moment  de  la  con- 
quete  des  Perses  ou  de  celle  des  Macedoniens, 
avec  une  physionomie  completement  individ- 
uelle  et  les   marques  d'une   longue  existence 

1  See  the  same  writer  in  Eawlinson's  Herodotus,  vol.  ii.p.  291, 
2d  edition. 


46  HISTORICAL  ILLUSTRATIONS 

anterieure."  ^  This  civilization  comprises  the 
practice  of  writing,  the  distinction  into  classes 
or  castes,  the  peculiar  dignity  of  the  priests, 
the  practice  of  embalming  and  of  burying  in 
wooden  coffins  or  mummj^-cases,^  the  manu- 
facture and  use  of  linen  garments,  the  wear- 
ing of  gold  chains,  and  almost  all  the  other 
points  which  have  been  noted  in  the  Mosaic 
description.  The  priests'  privilege  with  re- 
spect to  lands,  which  cannot  be  proved  from 
the  monuments,  is  mentioned  by  Herodotus 
and  Diodorus ;  ^  and  the  former  distinctly 
states  that  the  general  proprietorship  of  the 
land  was  vested  in  the  king.  The  same 
writer  witnesses  to  the  strong  feeling  of  the 
Egyptians  with  respect  to  "  uncleanness," 
and  to  their  fear  of  contracting  defilement  by 
contact  with  foreigners.*  The  Egyptian  con- 
tempt for  herdsmen  appears  abundantly  on 
the  monuments,  where  they  are  commonly  rep- 
resented as  dirty  and  unshaven,  and  sometimes 

1  Lenormant,  Manuel  d^IIistoire,  torn.  i.  p.  334. 

*  "The  representations  of  this  tomb,"  says  M.  Lenormant, 
"  show  us  the  civilization  of  Egypt  as  completely  organized  as 
it  was  at  thf  moment  of  the  conquest  of  the  Persians,  with  a 
physiognomy  altogether  peculiar  and  the  marks  of  a  long  ante- 
rior existence."  —  H. 

2  The  coffin  of  Mycerinus,  discovered  in  the  third  pyramid 
(which  belongs  to  about  b.  c.  2300-2200),  was  of  sycamore 
wood. 

8  Herod,  ii.  168  (compare  109);  Diod.  Sic.  i.  73. 

*  Herod,  ii.  45. 


OF  THE   OLD   TESTAMENT.  47 

even  caricatured  as  a  deformed  and  unseemly 
race.i  The  liberty  allowed  to  women  is  like- 
wise seen  on  the  monuments,  where  in  the  rep- 
resentation of  entertainments,  we  find  men  and 
women  frequently  sitting  together,  both  strang- 
ers and  also  members  of  the  same  family;  ^  and 
that  this  liberty  Avas  liable  to  degenerate  into 
license,  appears  both  from  what  Herodotus 
says  of  the  character  of  Egyptian  women,^ 
and  from  the  story  told  in  the  Papyrus  d'Or- 
biney,^  entitled  ''  The  Two  Brothers,"  where 
the  wife  of  the  elder  brother  acts  towards  the 
younger  almost  exactly  as  the  wife  of  Potiphar 
towards  Joseph.^  The  practice  of  men  carrying 
burdens  on  the  head,  both  appears  on  the  mon- 
uments and  is  also  noticed  by  Herodotus ;  ^  that 
of  sitting  at  meals,  which  was  unlike  the  pa- 
tiiarchal  and  the  common  Oriental  custom,'' 
is  also  completely  in  accordance  with  the  nu- 
merous representations  of  banquets  found  in 
the  tombs ;  the  washing  of  guests'  feet,  which 
does  not  appear  to  be  represented,  is  illus- 
trated by  a  tale  in  Herodotus,  as  well  as  by 

1  Wilkinson,  Ancient  Egyptians,  vol.  ii.  p.  16. 

2  Ibid.  p.  389. 

8  Herod,  ii.  111.     Compare  Diod.  Sic.  i.  59. 
4  *  This  papyrus  is  in  the  British  Museum.    For  a  translation 
of  the  tale,  see  the  Cambridge  Essays  for  1858.  —  H. 
6  Ebers,  ^gypten,  p.  311. 

6  Herod,  ii.  35;  Wilkinson,  vol.  11.  pp.  151,  385,  etc. 
■^  See  Gen.  xviii.  4. 


48  HISTORICAL   ILLUSTRATIONS 

the  ancient  custom  of  the  Greeks  ;  ^  divination 
by  cups  is  noted  as  an  Egyptian  superstition 
by  Jamblichus  ;  ^  the  monuments  abound  with 
representations  of  stewards  and  granaries,  of 
the  purchase  and  sale  of  slaves,  and  of  the 
employment  of  wagons  and  chariots.^  The 
use  of  a  signet-ring  by  the  monarch  has  re- 
cently received  a  remarkable  illustration  by 
the  discovery  of  an  impression  of  such  a  sig- 
net on  fine  clay  at  Koyunjik,  the  site  of  the 
ancient  Nineveh.  This  seal  appears  to  have 
been  impressed  from  the  bezel  of  a  metallic 
finger-ring  ;  it  is  an  oval,  two  inches  in  length 
by  one  inch  wide,  and  bears  the  image,  name, 
and  titles  of  the  Egyptian  king,  Sabaco.'* 

It  would  weary  the  reader  were  we  to  pro- 
ceed further  with  this  confirmation  of  the 
Mosaic  narrative  in  all  its  details.  A  simpler, 
and  perhaps  a  stronger  confirmation  is  to  be 

1  Herod,  ii.  172;  Horn.  Od.  iii.  460-468;  iv.  48. 

2  Jamblich.  de  Mysterirs  jEgypt.  iii.  14. 

8  On  stewards  and  granaries  see  Wilkinson,  voL  ii.  pp.  135, 
136;  Rosellini,  ii.  p.  329.  On  the  sale  of  slaves,  see  Wilkinson, 
vol.  i.  p.  404.  On  the  employment  of  wagons  and  chariots,  see 
Wilkinson,  vol.  i.  p.  335;  vol.  iii.  p.  179. 

4  See  l>ayard,  Nineveh  and  Babylon,  p.  156,  and  note.  Other 
impressions  of  royal  signets  have  been  found  in  Egypt;  and  the 
actual  signet-rings  of  two  of  the  ancient  monarchs  (Cheops  and 
Horus)  have  been  recovered. 

*  Figures  of  many  of  these  objects  (military,  agricultural,  and 
domestic)  copied  from  Egyptian  monuments,  will  be  found  in 
Smith's  Bihl.  Diet.  vol.  i.  pp.  671-685,  Amer.  ed.  —  H. 


OF   THE   OLD    TESTAMENT.  49 

found  in  an  examination  of  those  few  points 
in  respect  of  which  modern  Rationalism  has 
ventured  to  impugn  the  Sacred  His-  Points  to  which 

-,  1  1  c         1   •    1       exception     has 

tor 3^,  and  on  tlie  strengtli  oi  winch  been  taken. 
it  has  been  argued  that  the  writer  of  the  Pen- 
tateuch was  unacquainted  with  Egypt,  and 
composed  his  work  many  centuries  after  the 
time  of  Moses.  Now,  the  points  to  which  ex- 
ception has  been  taken  —  so  far  as  Genesis  is 
concerned  —  appear  to  be  chiefly  these:  (1) 
the  mention  of  camels  and  asses  among  the  pos- 
sessions of  Abraham  in  Egypt  (Gen.  xii.  16)  ; 
(2)  the  blasting  of  the  ears  of  corn  by  the 
east  wind  (xli.  6)  ;  (3)  the  cultivation  of  the 
vine  and  the  use  of  wine  in  Egypt  (xl.  11)  ; 
(4)  the  use  of  flesh  for  food,  especially  by 
one  connected  with  the  higher  castes  of  the 
Egyptians,  as  Joseph  was  (xliii.  16)  ;  (5)  the 
employment  of  eunuchs  (regarded  as  implied 
in  xxxvii.  86)  ;  (6)  the  possibility  of  famine 
in  Egypt ;  and  (7)  the  possibility  of  such  a 
marriage  as  is  said  to  have  taken  place  be- 
tween a  foreign  shepherd  and  the  daughter  of 
the  high-priest  of  Heliopolis  (xli.  45). ^ 

It  is  undoubtedly  true  that  there  are  no  rep- 
resentations of  camels  on  the  Egyptian  monu- 
ments, and  that  the  ancient  writers  who  speak 

1  See  Von  Bohlen,  Die  Genesis  historisch-hritisch  erldutertf 
and  Tuch,  Comment,  iiber  d.  Genesis. 


50  HISTORICAL  ILLUSTRATIONS 

of  the  animals  of  Egypt  do  not  mention  them. 
These  points  But,  on  the  other  hand,  it  is  cer- 
examined.  tain,  from  the  circumstances  of  the 
country  at  the  present  day,  that  much  of 
Egypt  is  well  suited  to  the  camel ;  ^  and  it  is 
beyond  a  doubt  that  camels  always  abounded 
in  the  parts  of  Asia  bordering  upon  Egypt, 
and  that  they  must  have  been  used  in  any 
traffic  that  took  place  between  Egypt  and  her 
Eastern  neighbors.  Hence  the  bulk  of  mod- 
ern writers  upon  Ancient  Egypt  place  the 
camel  among  her  animals  ;  though  some  ob- 
serve that  "  they  were  probably  only  kept 
upon  the  frontier."  ^ 

[*  Camels  are  not  uncommon  in  Egypt  at  the 
present  time.  Most  of  the  travelling  between 
Egypt  and  Palestine  is  performed  in  that 
way.  Strabo,  the  Greek  geographer  (speak- 
ing of  a  much  later  time  of  course),  says  that 
the  Egyptians  travelled  with  camels  through 
the  desert  from  Coptos  (Upper  Egypt)  to 
Berenice  (Ezion-geber,  Num.  xxxiii.  35,  36  ; 
Deut.  ii.  8).  The  objection  as  drawn  from 
Gen.  xii.  16,  is  not  justified ;  for  not  a  word 
is  said  there  of  the  use  of  camels  among  the 
Egyptians  (which  agrees  perfectly  with  the 
silence  of  the  Egyptian  monuments),  but  that 

1  Wilkinson,  vol.  iii.  p.  35. 

'^  Wilkinson,  vol.  iii.  p.  35;  vol.  v.  p.  187.  Stewart  Poole  in 
Smith's  Biblical  Diet,  vol,  i.  p.  500  ;  and  i.  p.  673,  Araer.  ed. 


OF   THE   OLD   TESTAMENT.  51 

Abraham  favored  by  Pharaoh  was  greatly 
prospered  as  a  herdsman,  and  among  his  pos- 
sessions had  also  camels,  as  a  nomad,  such  as 
Abraham  was  and  continued  to  be  (Gen.  xiii. 
11),  would  of  course  have.  If  the  monuments 
afford  no  proof  that  the  Egyptians  had  camels 
in  that  age,  neither  does  the  book  of  Genesis, 
and  the  two  records  are  consistent  with  each 
other  in  that  respect.] 

With  regard  to  asses,  the  objection  taken 
is  extraordinary,  and  indicates  an  astonishing 
degree  of  ignorance  ;  since  asses  were  amongst 
the  most  common  of  Egyptian  animals,  a  sin- 
gle individual  possessing  sometimes  as  many 
as  seven  or  eight  hundred.^ 

An  actual  "  east  wind  "  is  rare  in  Egypt, 
and  when  it  occurs  is  not  injurious  to  vegeta- 
tion ;  but  the  southeast  wind,  which  would 
be  included  under  the  Hebrew  term  translated 
"  east "  in  Gen.  xH.,  is  frequent,  and  is  often 
most  oppressive.  Ukert  thus  sums  up  the  ac- 
counts which  modern  travellers  have  given  of 
it :  "  As  long  as  the  southeast  vdnd  continues, 
doors  and  windows  are  closed,  but  the  fine  dust 
penetrates  everywhere  ;  everything  dries  up  ; 
wooden  vessels  warp  and  crack.  The  ther- 
mometer rises  suddenly  from  16.20  degrees  up 

1  *  Lepsius  confirms  this  statement    explicitly  {Denhmdler 
aus  uEgypten  und  ^Ethiopia). — H. 


52  HISTORICAL  ILLUSTRATIONS 

to  30,  36,  and  even  38  degrees  of  Reaumur 
This  wind  works  destruction  upon  everything. 
The  grass  withers  so  that  it  entirely  perishes, 
if  this  wind  blows  long."  ^ 

Though  Herodotus  (ii.  77)  denies  the  exist- 
ence of  the  vine  in  Egypt,  and  Plutarch  states 
that  wine  was  not  drunk  there  till  the  reign  of 
Psammetichus,^  yet  it  is  now  certain,  from  the 
monuments,  that  the  cultivation  of  the  grape, 
the  art  of  making  wine,  and  the  practice  of 
drinking  it,  were  well  known  in  Egypt  at 
least  from  the  time  of  the  Pyramids.  Sir  G. 
Wilkinson  observes,  that  "  wine  was  univer- 
sally used  by  the  rich  throughout  Egypt,  and 
beer  supplied  its  place  at  the  tables  of  the 
poor,  not  because  they  had  no  vines  in  the 
country,  but  because  it  was  cheaper."  ^  And 
this  statement  is  as  true  of  the  most  ancient 
period  represented  on  the  monuments  as  of 
any  other. 

The  denial  of  the  use  of  flesh  for  food  among 
high-caste  Egyptians  is  one  of  those  curious 
errors  into  which  learned  men  occasionally  fall, 
strangely  and  unaccountably.     There  is  really 

1  Quoted  by  Hengstenberg,  jEgypten  und  Mose,  p.  10. 

*  First  translated  in  this  country  by  Prof.  R.  D.  C.  Robbins 
and  subsequently  in  Clark's  Theological  Library,  Edinburgh. 
—H. 

2  Be  Isid.  et  Osir.  §  6. 

*  Wilkinson  in  Rawlinson's  Herodotus,  vol.  ii.  p.  107;  2d  ed 


OF   THE    OLD   TESTAMENT.  53 

no  ancient  writer  who  asserts  that  even  the 
priests  abstain  ordinarily  from  animal  food, 
while  the  best  authors  distinctly  declare  the 
contrary.!  And  the  cooking  scenes,  which 
abound  on  the  Egyptian  monuments  of  all 
ages,2  show  that  animal  food  was  the  principal 
diet  of  the  upper  classes. 
'  With  respect  to  the  existence  of  eunuchs  in 
Ancient  Egypt,  the  evidence  is  conflicting. 
E-osellini  believed  that  he  found  them  depicted 
on  the  monuments.*^  Wilkinson,  on  the  other 
hand,  does  not  recognize  them  ;  and  it  must 
be  admitted  to  be  doubtful  whether  they  are 
really  represented  or  no.  But  it  is  at  least 
certain  that  Manetho,  the  Egyptian  priest, 
regarded  them  as  an  old  national  institution, 
since  he  related  that  a  king  of  the  twelfth 
dynasty  (ab.  B.  c.  1900)  was  assassinated  by 
his  eunuchs.*  On  the  other  hand  it  is  uncer- 
tain whether  the  Hebrew  word  used  of  Poti- 
phar  (Gen.  xxxvii.  36),  and  of  the  "chief 
butler"  and  "chief  baker"  (xl.  2),  though 
originally  it  may  have  meant  "  eunuch,"  had 
not  also  the  secondary  sense  of  "  officer "  at 
the  time  oT  the  composition  of  the  Pentateuch. 
That  it  had  this  sense  in  later  times  is  allowed 

1  Herod,  ii.  37;  Plut.  De  Is.  et  Osir.  §  5. 

2  Wilkinson,  Ancient  £(/yptians,  vol.  ii.  pp.  374-388. 
8   Monumenti  dell'  Fgifto,  vol.  ii.  p.  132  et  seq. 

4  Manetho  ap.  Euseb.  Chron.  Can.  i.  20. 


54  HISTORICAL   ILLUSTRATIONS 

on  all  hands,  and  some  even  regard  it  as  the 
original  meaning  of  the  word.^ 

To  deny,  as  Von  Bohlen  does,^  the  possibil- 
ity of  famine  in  Egypt,  is  absurd.  Ancient 
writers  constantly  notice  its  liability  to  this 
scourge,  when  the  inundation  of  the  Nile  falls 
below  the  average ;  ^  and  history  tells  of 
numerous  cases  in  which  the  inhabitants  of 
the  country  have  suffered  terribly  from  want.* 
The  most  remarkable  occasion,  and  one  which 
furnishes  a  near  parallel  to  the  famine  of 
Joseph,  was  in  the  year  of  the  Hegira  457 
(a.  d.  1064),  when  a  famine  began  which 
lasted  seven  years,  and  was  so  severe  that 
dogs  and  cats,  and  even  human  flesh,  were 
eaten  ;  all  the  horses  of  the  caliph,  but  three, 
perished,  and  his  family  had  to  fly  into  Syria. 
Another  famine,  scarcely  less  severe,  took 
place  in  A.  D.  1199,  and  is  recorded  by  Abd- 
el-Latif,^  an  eye-witness,  in  very  similar 
terms. 

The  marriage  of  Joseph  with  the  daughter 
of  the  high-priest  of  On   (Heliopolis),  is  an 

1  Cook  Taylor,  note  in  the  translation  of  Jlengstenberg's 
jEgypten  und  Mose  (Clark's  Theological  Library^  p.  23). 

2  Die  Genesis  erldutert,  §  421. 

8  Strab.xvii.  3,  §  15  ;  Plin.  ff.  JV.  v.  9;  xviii.  18. 

•*  Several  famines  are  mentioned  on  the  monuments  (Brugsch, 
Histoired'tgypte,  \ol.  i.  p.  5G).  Others  are  recorded  by  Mo- 
hammedan writers,  as  Makrizi,  Es-Suyuti,  and  others. 

6  See  the  Descr'qHion  de  VEgpte,  torn.  vii.  p.  332. 


OF   THE    OLD   TESTAMENT.  55 

event  to  which  it  must  be  admitted  that  we 
cannot  show  any  exact  parallel.  It  would 
seem,  however,  that  the  exclusiveness  of  the 
Egyptians  with  respect  to  marriage  has  been 
overrated.  The  kings,  who,  on  their  acces- 
sion, became  members  of  the  priestly  order 
and  heads  of  the  national  religion,  readily 
gave  their  daughters  to  foreigners,  as  one  gave 
his  to  Solomon,  and  several  in  later  times 
gave  theirs  to  Ethiopians.^  Moreover,  it 
must  be  borne  in  mind,  that  Joseph  was  natu- 
ralized, and  was  accounted  an  Egyptian,  just 
as  the  Ptolemies  were  in  later  times,  and  that 
thus  any  marriage  would  be  open  to  him 
which  was  open  to  other  non-priestly  Egyp- 
tians. If  there  had  still  been  any  reluctance 
on  the  part  of  the  high-priest,  it  must  have 
yielded  to  the  command  of  the  despotic  king, 
who  is  expressly  stated  to  have  made  the 
marriage. 

1  Wilkinson  in  Rawlinson's  Serodottis,  vol.  ii.  p.  141. 


56  HISTORICAL  ILLUSTRATIONS 


CHAPTER  III. 

EXODUS   TO   DEUTERONOMY. 

The  narrative  contained  in  these  four  books 
—  Exodus,  Leviticus,  Numbers,  and  Deuter- 
onomy —  covers  a  space  of  probably  less  than 
two  centuries  ;  and  the  scene  is  chiefly  laid 
in  countries  of  which  profane  history  tells  us 
little  or  nothing  at  this  early  period.  Illus- 
tration of  the  narrative  from  profane  sources 
must,  therefore,  be  almost  entirely  confined  to 
that  portion  of  it  which  precedes  the  depart- 
ure from  Egypt,  or,  in  other  words,  to  the 
time  during  which  the  descendants  of  Abra- 
ham remained  in  close  contact  with  a  civilized 
nation,  whose  records  and  monuments  have 
come  down  to  us.  For  this  space  two  sorts  of 
illustrations  are  possible.  The  same  kind  of 
agreement  between  the  details  of  the  Biblical 
narrative  and  the  usages  known  to  have  pre- 
vailed in  Ancient  Egypt,  which  has  been 
pointed  out  with  respect  to  the  latter  part  of 
Genesis,  may  be  traced  likewise  here;  and 
further,  the  Exodus  itself,  or  withdrawal  from 
Egypt  of  an  oppressed  portion  of  the  popula- 


OF  THE   OLD   TESTAMENT.  57 

tion,  and  tlieir  settlement  in  southern  Syria 
or  Palestine,  may  be  shown  to  have  Profune  ac- 
left    traces  in  Egyptian  literature,  Exodus, 
traces     which    quite    unmistakably   point    to 
some  such  series  of  transactions  as  those  re- 
corded in  the  sacred  volume. 

In  proof  of  this  latter  point,  to  which  pre- 
cedence may  be  assigned  on  account  of  its  ex- 
ceeding interest,  an  exact  translation  will,  in 
the  first  place,  be  given  of  two  passages,  one 
from  the  early  Egyptian  writer,  Manetho,  and 
the  other  from  a  later  author  of  the  same 
nation,  Chaeremon,  both  of  whom  were  priests 
and  learned  in  the  antiquities  of  their 
country. 

Manetho  (as  reported  by  the  Jewish  histo- 
rian, Josephus  1)  said  :  — 

"  A  king,  named  Amenophis,  desired  to  behold 
the  gods,  like  Horus,  one  of  his  predecessors,  and 
imparted  his  desire  to  his  namesake,  Account  of 
Amenophis,  son  of  Paapis,  who,  on  ^^^^t^^^- 
account  of  his  wisdom  and  acquaintance  with  futu- 
rity was  thought  to  be  a  partaker  of  the  divine 
nature.  His  namesake  told  him  that  he  would  be 
able  to  see  the  gods,  if  he  cleansed  the  whole 
country  of  the  lepers  and  the  other  polluted  per- 
sons in  it.  The  king  was  pleased,  and  collecting 
together  all  that  had  any  bodily  defect  throughout 

1  Contr.  Apion.  i.  26,  27. 


58  HISTORICAL  ILLUSTRATIONS 

Egypt,  to  the  number  of  eighty  thousand,  he  cast 
them  into  the  stone-quarries  which  lie  east  of  the 
Nile,  in  order  that  they  might  work  there  together 
with  the  other  Egyptians  employed  similarly. 
Among  them  were  some  of  the  learned  priests  who 
were  afflicted  with  leprosy.  But  Amenophis,  the 
sage  and  prophet,  grew  alarmed,  fearing  the  wrath  of 
the  gods  against  himself  as  well  as  against  the  king, 
if  the  forced  labor  of  the  men  were  observed,  and 
he  proceeded  to  foretell  that  there  would  come  per- 
sons to  the  assistance  of  the  unclean,  who  would  be 
masters  of  Egypt  for  thirteen  years.  But  as  he 
did  not  dare  to  say  this  to  the  king,  he  put  it  all  in 
writing,  and,  leaving  the  document  behind  him, 
killed  himself.  Hereupon  the  king  was  greatly  de- 
jected ;  and  when  the  workers  in  the  stone-quarries 
had  suffered  for  a  considerable  time,  the  king,  at 
their  request,  set  apart  for  their  refreshment  and 
protection,  the  city  of  Avaris,  which  was  empty, 
having  been  deserted  by  the  shepherds.  Now  this 
place,  according  to  the  mythology,  was  of  old  a  Ty- 
phonian  town.  So  when  the  people  had  entered  the 
city,  and  had  thus  a  stronghold  on  which  to  rest, 
they  appointed  as  their  leader  a  priest  of  Heliopo- 
lis,  by  name  Osarsiph,  and  swore  to  obey  him  in  all 
things.  And  he,  first  of  all,  gave  them  a  law,  that 
they  should  worship  no  gods,  and  should  abstain 
from  none  of  the  animals  accounted  most  holy  in 
Egypt,  but  sacrifice  and  consume  all  alike  ;  and  fur- 
ther, that  they  should  associate  with  none  but  their 
fellow-conspirators.     Having  established  these  and 


OF   THE   OLD   TESTAMENT.  59 

many  other  laws  completely  opposed  to  the  customs 
of  Egypt,  he  commanded  the  bulk  of  them  to  build 
up  the  town  wall,  and  to  make  themselves  ready  for 
a  war  with  Amenophis  the  king.  After  this,  hav- 
ing consulted  with  some  of  the  other  priests  and 
polluted  persons,  he  sent  ambassadors  to  the  shep- 
herds, who  had  been  driven  out  of  Egypt  by 
Tethmosis,  to  the  city  which  is  called  Jerusalem, 
and  after  informing  them  about  himself  and  his 
fellow-sufferers,  invited  them  to  join  with  him  in 
an  attack  upon  Egypt.  He  would  bring  them,  he 
said,  in  the  first  place,  to  Avaris,  the  city  of  their 
forefathers,  and  would  provide  them  amply  with 
all  that  was  necessary  for  their  host ;  he  would  fight 
on  their  behalf,  when  occasion  offered,  and  easily 
make  the  country  subject  to  them.  They,  on  their 
part,  were  exceedingly  rejoiced,  and  promptly  set  out 
in  full  force,  to  the  number  of  two  hundred  thousand 
men,  and  soon  reached  Avaris.  Now  when  Amen- 
ophis, the  Egyptian  king,  heard  of  their  invasion, 
he  was  not  a  little  disquieted,  since  he  remembered 
what  Amenophis  the  son  of  Paapis,  had  prophesied; 
and  though  he  had  previously  collected  together  a 
vast  host  of  Egyptians,  and  had  taken  counsel 
with  their  leaders,  yet  soon  he  gave  orders  that 
the  sacred  animals  held  in  the  most  repute  in  the 
various  temples  should  be  conveyed  to  him,  and 
that  the  priests  of  each  temple  should  hide  away 
the  im^ge^  qf  ii\Q.  gods  as  securely  as  possible. 
Moreover  he  placed  his  son,  Sethos  —  called  also 
Bainesses,  after  Rampse%  his    (^,   e.  Amenophis') 


60  HISTORICAL   ILLUSTRATIONS 

father,  —  who  was  a  boy  of  five  years  old,  in  the 
hands  of  one  of  his  friends.  He  then  himself 
crossed  the  river  with  the  other  Egyptians,  three 
hu-ndred  thousand  in  number,  all  excellent  soldiers  ; 
but  when  the  enemy  advanced  to  meet  him,  he  de- 
clined to  engage,  since  he  thought  that  it  would  be 
fighting  against  the  gods,  and  returned  hastily  to 
Memphis.  Then,  carrying  with  him  the  Apis  and 
the  other  sacred  animals  which  had  been  brought 
to  him,  he  proceeded  at  once  with  the  whole  Egyp- 
tian army  to  Ethiopia.  Now  the  king  of  Ethiopia 
lay  under  obligations  to  him :  he  therefore  received 
him,  supplied  his  host  with  all  the  necessaries  that 
his  country  afforded,  assigned  them  cities  and  vil- 
lages sufficient  for  the  fated  thirteen  years'  suspen- 
sion of  their  sovereignty,  and  even  placed  an  Ethi- 
opian force  on  the  Egyptian  frontier  for  the 
protection  of  the  army  of  Amenophis.  Thus  stood 
matters  in  Ethiopia.  But  the  Solymites  who  had 
returned  from  exile,  and  the  unclean  Egyptians, 
treated  the  people  of  the  country  so  shamefully, 
that  their  government  appeared,  to  those  who  wit- 
nessed their  impieties,  to  be  the  worst  Egypt  had 
known.  For  not  only  did  they  burn  cities  and 
hamlets,  nor  were  they  content  with  plundering  the 
temples  and  ill-treating  the  images,  but  they  con- 
tinued to  use  the  venerated  sacred  animals  as  food, 
and  compelled  the  priests  and  prophets  to  be  their 
slayers  and  butchers,  and  then  sent  them  away 
naked.  And  it  is  said  that  the  priest  who  framed 
their  constitution  and  their  laws,  who  was  a  native 


OF   THE   OLD   TESTAMENT.  61 

of  Heliopolis,  named  Osarsiph,  after  the  Heliopol- 
itan  god  Osiris,  after  he  joined  this  set  of  people, 

changed  his  name,  and  was    called   Moses 

Afterwards,  Amenophis  returned  from  Ethiopia 
with  a  great  force,  as  did  his  son  Rampses,  who 
was  likewise  accompanied  by  a  force,  and  together 
they  engaged  the  shepherds  and  the  unclean,  and 
defeated  them,  slaying  many  and  pursuing  the 
remainder  to  the  borders  of  Syria." 

The  statement  of  Chaeremon  is  as  follows  :  ^ 

"  Isis  having  appeared  to  Amenophis  in  his 
sleep,  and  reproached  him  because  her  temple  had 
been  destroyed  in  the  (shepherd)  war,  Account  of 
Phritiphantes,  the  sacred  scribe,  in-  Chaeremon. 
formed  him  that  if  he  would  purge  the  land  of 
Egypt  of  all  those  who  had  any  pollution  he  would 
be  subject  to  no  more  such  alarms.  So  he  collected 
250,000  defiled  persons,  and  expelled  them  from 
the  country.  Two  scribes,  called  Moses  and  Joseph, 
led  them  forth ;  the  latter  of  whom  was,  like  Phriti- 
phantes, a  sacred  scribe  ;  and  both  of  these  men 
had  Egyptian  names,  the  name  of  Moses  being 
Tisithen,  and  that  of  Joseph,  Peteseph.  They  pro- 
ceeded to  Pelusium,  and  there  fell  in  with  380,000 
persons,  who  had  been  left  behind  by  Amenophis, 
because  he  did  not  like  to  bring  them  into  Egypt. 
So  they  made  an  alliance  with  these  men,  and 
invaded  Egypt ;  whereupon  Amenophis,  witliout 
waiting  for   them    to   attack   him,  fled   away   into 

1  Ap.  Josephs  c.  Apicn.  §  32. 


62  HISTORICAL  ILLUSTRATIONS 

Ethiopia,  leaving  his  wife,  who  was  pregnant,  be- 
hind him.  And  she,  having  hid  herself  in  some 
caves,  gave  birth  there  to  a  son,  who  was  called 
Messenes,  who,  when  he  came  to  man*s  estate, 
drove  the  Jews  into  Syria,  their  number  being 
about  200,000,  and  received  back  his  father  Amen- 
ophis  out  of  Ethiopia." 

From  these  passages  it  appears  (1)  that  the 
Egyptians  had  a  tradition  of  an  Exodus  from. 
Points  of  ac-     their  country  of  persons  whom  they 

cordance  be-  i     i  i 

tween  these       regarded  as   unclean,  persons  who 

accounts  and  .  ,       ,      .  c  i 

Scripture.  rejected  their  customs,  reiused  to 
worship  their  gods,  and  killed  for  food,  the 
animals  which  they  held  as  sacred ;  (2)  that 
they  connected  this  Exodus  with  the  names 
of  Joseph  1  and  Moses  ;  (3)  that  they  made 
southern  Syria  the  country  into  which  the 
unclean  persons  withdrew  ;  and  (4)  that  they 
placed  the  event  in  the  reign  of  a  certain 
Amenophis,  son  of  Rameses,  or  Rampses,  and 
father  of  Sethos,  who  was  made  to  reign  towards 
the  close  of  the  eighteenth  dynasty,  or  about  B. 
C.  1400-1300.2     The  circumstances  by  which 

1  It  must  be  remembered  that  the  Israelites  did  carry  with 
them  out  of  Egypt  the  body  of  Joseph  (Ex.  xiii.  19),  and  that 
there  was,  thus,  some  foundation  for  the  Egyptian  notion,  that 
Moses  and  Joseph  led  them  out. 

It  is  said  also  in  Josh.  xxiv.  32,  that  "  the  bones  of  Joseph 
which  the  children  of  Israel  brought  up  out  of  Egypt,  buried 
they  in  Shechem."     See  also  Acts  vii.  15,  16.  —  H. 

2  Egyptian  chronology  and  the  date  of  the  Exodus  are,  botl. 


OF   THE   OLD   TESTAMENT.  63 

the  Exodus  A\'as  preceded  are  represented  dif- 
ferently in  the  Egyptian  and  in  the  Hebrew 
narrative,  either  because  the  memory  of  some 
other  event  is  confused  with  that  of  the  Jewish 
Exodus,  or  because  the  Egyptian  writers,  be- 
ing determined  to  represent  the  withdrawal  of 
the  Jews  from  Egypt  as  an  expulsion,  were 
driven  to  invent  a  cause  for  the  expulsion  in 
a  precedent  war,  and  a  temporary  dominion 
of  the  polluted  persons  over  their  country. 
Among  little  points  common  to  the  two  nar- 
ratives, and  tending  to  identify  them,  are  the 
following :  (1)  the  name  of  Avaris  given  to 
the  town  made  over  to  the  polluted  persons, 
which  stands  in  etymological  connection  with 
the  word  "  Hebrew  " ;  (2)  the  character  of 
the  pollution  ascribed  to  them,  leprosy,  which 
may  be  accounted  for,  first,  by  the  fact  that 
one  of  the  signs  by  which  Moses  was  to  prove 
his  divine  mission  consisted  in  the  exhibition 
of  a  leprous  hand  (Ex.  iv.  6) ;  and,  secondly, 
by  the  existence  of  this  malady  to  a  considera- 
ble extent  among  the  Hebrew  people  at  the 
time  (Lev.  xiii.  and  xiv.)  ;  (3)  the  mention 

of  them,  still  unsettled.  M.  Lenormant  places  the  accession  of 
the  nineteenth  dynasty  in  b.  c.  1462  {Manuel  d' Illstoire,  torn. 
i.  p.  321);  Sir  G.  Wilkinson  in  b.  c.  1321  (Rawlinson's  Berodo- 
tus,  vol.  ii.  p.  308,  2d  ed.);  Mr.  Stuart  Poole  about  b.  c.  1340 
(Biblical  Bict.vol.  i.  p.  511;  and  vol.  i.  p.  684,  Amer.  ed.).  The 
date  of  the  Exodus  is  variously  given,  as  b.  c.  1648  (Hales) 
1652  (Poole),  1491  (Usher,  Kali'seh\  and  1320  (Lepsius). 


64  HISTORICAL  ILLUSTRATIONS 

of  Heliopolis  as  the  city  to  which  the  leader 
belonged,  and  the  assignment  to  him  of  priestly 
rank,  which  arises  naturally  out  of  the  confu- 
sion between  Moses  and  Joseph  (Gen.  xli. 
45)  ;  (4)  the  employment  of  the  polluted  per- 
sons for  a  time  in  forced  labor  ;  (5)  the  con- 
viction of  Amenophis  that  in  resisting  the  pol- 
luted he  was  "  fighting  against  the  gods ;  " 
(6)  his  fear  for  the  safety  of  his  young  son, 
which  recalls  to  our  thoughts  the  last  and  most 
awful  of  the  plagues  ;  (7)  the  sending  away 
of  the  priests  "  naked,"  which  seems  an  ex- 
aggeration of  the  "  spoiling  of  the  Egyptians  ;" 
and  (8)  the  occurrence  of  the  name  ''  Ram- 
eses "  in  the  Egyptian  royal  house,  which 
harmonizes  with  its  employment  at  the  time 
as  a  local  designation  (Ex.  i.  11 ;  xii.  37). 

Another  curious  account  of  the  Exodus  was 
given  by  Hecatieus,  a  Greek  of  Abdera,  who 
flourished  in  the  time  of  Alexander,  and  was 
familiar  with  Ptolemy  Lagi,  the  first  Greek 
king  of  Egypt.  This  writer,  as  reported  by 
Diodorus,^  said :  — 

"  Once,  when  a  plague  broke  out  in  Egypt,  the 
people  generally  ascribed  the  affliction  to  the  anger 
Account  given  of  the  gods ;  for  as  many  strangers  of 
of  Abdera."^      different  races  were  dwelling  in  Egypt 

1  Diod.  Sic.  xl.  3.  (The  passage  is  preserved  to  us  hy  Piio^ 
tius,  Bibliothec.  p.  1152.) 


OF   THP]   OLD   TESTAMENT.  Q5 

at  the  time,  who  practiced  various  strange  customs 
in  their  worship  and  their  sacrifices,  it  had  come  to 
pass  that  the  old  religious  observances  of  the 
country  had  fallen  into  disuse.  The  natives,  there- 
fore, believing  that  unless  they  expelled  the  for- 
eigners there  would  be  no  end  to  their  sufferings, 
rose  against  them,  and  drove  them  out.  Now  the 
noblest  and  most  enterprising  joined  together,  and 
went  (as  some  say)  to  Greece  and  elsewhere,  under 
leaders  of  good  repute ;  the  most  remarkable  of 
whom  were  Danaus  and  Cadmus.  But  the  bulk 
of  them  withdrew  to  the  country  which  is  now 
called  Judaea,  situated  at  no  great  distance  from 
Egypt,  and  at  that  time  without  inhabitants.  The 
leader  of  this  colony  was  the  man  called  Moses,  who 
was  distinguished  above  his  fellows  by  his  wisdom 
and  his  courage.  Having  taken  possession  of  the 
country,  he  built  there  a  number  of  towns,  and  among 
them  the  city  which  is  called  Jerusalem,  and  which 
is  now  so  celebrated.  He  likewise  built  the  temple 
which  they  hold  in  so  much  respect,  and  instituted 
their  religious  rites  and  ceremonies  ;  besides  which 
he  gave  them  laws  and  arranged  their  form  of  gov- 
ernment. He  divided  the  people  into  twelve  tribes, 
because  he  regarded  12  as  the  most  perfect  num- 
ber, agreeing,  as  it  does,  with  the  number  of  months 
that  complete  the  year.  But  he  would  not  set  up 
any  kind  of  image  of  the  Deity,  because  he  did  not 
believe  that  God  had  a  human  form,  but  regarded 
the  firmament  which  surrounds  the  earth  as  the 
only  God  and  Lord  of  all.     And  he  made  their  sac- 


66  HISTORICAL  ILLUSTRATIONS 

rifices  and  their  habits  of  life  quite  different  from 
those  of  other  nations,  introducing  a  misanthropic 
and  inhospitable  style  of  living,  on  account  of  the 
expulsion  which  he  had  himself  suffered." 

With  this  may  be  compared  the  remarkable 
account  in  Tacitus,^  which  combines  certain 
features  which  are  Egyptian  with  others  that 
have  clearly  come  from  the  sacred  narrative. 

"  Most  writers  agree,"  says  Tacitus,  "  that  when 
a  plague,  which  disfigured  men's  bodies,  had  broken 

Ac  ount   f  ^^^   ^^    ^gyP^J  Bocchoris,  the    king,  de- 

Tacitus,  sirous  of  a  remedy,  sent  and  consulted 

the  oracle  of  Ammon,  which  commanded  him  to 
purge  his  kingdom,  by  removing  to  foreign  lands 
the  afflicted  persons,  who  were  a  race  hateful  to  the 
gods.  Search  was  therefore  made,  and  a  vast  mul- 
titude being  collected  together,  was  led  forth  and 
left  in  a  desert.  Then  Moses,  one  of  their  num- 
ber, seeing  the  rest  stupefied  with  grief,  advised 
them,  as  they  were  deserted  both  by  gods  and  men, 
not  to  expect  help  from  either,  but  to  confide  in 
Him  the  heavenly  leader,  to  whose  assistance  they 
would  no  sooner  trust  than  they  would  be  free  from 
their  troubles.  His  words  won  their  assent,  and 
in  utter  ignorance  they  marched  whither  chance 
led  them.  Their  greatest  trial  was  the  want  of 
water.  Death  seemed  drawing  near,  as  they  lay 
prostrate  on  the  plains,  when,  lo  !  a  herd  of  wild 

1  Hist.  V.  3.  Compare  the  account  of  Lysimachus  (Fr.  Hist, 
Gr.  vol.  iii.  p.  334). 


OF   THE   OLD   TESTAMENT.  67 

asses  was  seen  to  quit  its  pasture  and  retreat  to  a 
piece  of  rocky  ground  whereon  a  number  of  trees 
grew.  Moses  followed  upon  their  track,  and  find- 
ing a  patch  of  soil  covered  with  grass,  conjectured 
the  presence  of  water,  and  succeeded  in  uncovering 
some  copious  springs.  Thus  refreshed  they  pur- 
sued'their  journey  for  six  days,  and  on  the  seventh 
reached  a  cultivated  tract,  whereof  they  took  pos- 
session, after  driving  out  the  inhabitants.  Here 
they  built  their  town  and  consecrated  their  temple." 

From  the  diverse  manner  in  which  the  stoiy 
is  told  by  different  authors,  we  may  conclude 
that  the  Egyptians  in  their  formal  The  differences 

r  .    ,       •         ,       1  , .  £    J 1  and  inaccura- 

histories  took  no  notice  oi  the  oc-  cies  of  these 
currence,  which  sorely  hurt  their  na-  S^un^ts  ex- 
tional  vanity;    but  that  a  remem-  p^*"^"^* 
brance  of   it   continued  in   the  minds  of  the 
people,  who  possessed  (it  must  be  borne  in 
mind)  a  copious  contemporary  literature,^  and 
that  this  remembrance  gradually  took  various 
shapes,  all  of  them,  however,  more  or  less  flat- 
tering to  the  Egyptians  themselves,  and  unfair 
to  their  adversaries.     The  Hebrews  were  al- 
most uniformly  represented  as  unclean  persons, 
afflicted  with  some  disease  or  other,  and  their 
Exodus  was  declared  to  be  an  expulsion.    Gen- 
erally they  were  spoken  of  as  Egyptians,  which 

1  The  hieratic  Papyri  of  Egypt  go  back  to  a  time  anterior  to 
the  eighteenth  dynasty.  They  comprise  romances,  epistolary 
correspondence,  poems,  etc. 


68  HISTORICAL   ILLUSTRATIONS 

was  not  unnatural,  considering  their  long 
sojourn  in  the  country  ;  ^  but  sometimes  it 
was  allowed  that  they  were  foreigners.^  The 
miraculous  events  by  which  their  depart- 
ure was  preceded  were  ignored,  partially  or 
wholly  ;  but  there  was  a  pretty  general  consent 
as  to  the  name  of  their  leader,  as  to  the  char- 
acter of  the  laws  which  he  gave  them,  and  as 
to  the  quarter  in  which  they  obtained  new  set- 
tlements. The  Egyptians  never  forgot,  any 
more  than  the  Hebrews,  that  there  had  been 
a  time  when  the  two  races  had  dwelt  to- 
gether ;  they  looked  on  the  Hebrews  as  a  sort 
of  Egyptian  colony ;  and  while  from  time  to 
time  they  claimed,  on  that  account,  a  domin- 
ion over  their  country,  they  were  ready  gen- 
erally to  extend  to  it  that  protection,  which  col- 
onies, according  to  the  ideas  of  the  ancient 
world,  were  entitled  to  require  from  the  father- 
land. The  relations  between  Egypt  and  Pal- 
estine were,  for  the  most  part,  friendly  from 
the  time  of  the  Exodus  to  the  conquest  of 
Egypt  by  the  Romans. 

1  Compare  Ex.  ii.  19,  where  Reuel's  daughters  mistake  Moses 
for  "an  Egyptian." 

2  See  the  account  of  Hecatajus  (supra,  p.  62),  and  compare 
Tacit.  Hist.  v.  2:  "Some  writers  tell  us  that  they  (i.  e.  the 
Jews)  were  a  band  of  Assyrians,  who,  being  in  want  of  terri- 
tory, first  took  possession  of  a  portion  of  Egypt,  and  soon 
afterwards  became  the  inhabitants  of  the  parts  of  Syria  which 
lie  near  to  Egypt." 


OF   THE    OLD   TESTAMENT.  69 

In  none  of  the  profane  accounts  hitherto 
quoted  has  the  remarkable  event  of  the  pas- 
sage of  the  Red  Sea  by  the  He-  Egyptian  ver- 
brews,  in  their  flight,  obtained  any  ^^Z^Slhe 
mention.  There  is,  however,  rea-  i^^'^i^^^- 
son  to  believe,  that  this  important  feature  of 
the  history  retained  a  place  in  the  recollec- 
tions of  the  Egyptian  people,  and  even  formed 
a  subject  of  discussion  and  controversy  among 
them.  Artapanus,  a  Jewish  historian,  quoted 
by  Alexander  Polyhistor,^  the  contemporary 
of  Sulla  and  Marius,  wrote  as  follows  : — 

"  The  Memphites  say,  that  Moses,  being  well 
acquainted  with  the  district,  watched  the  ebb  of  the 
tide,  and  so  led  the  people  across  the  dry  bed  of 
the  sea ;  but  they  of  Heliopolis  affirm,  that  the  king 
at  the  head  of  a  vast  force,  and  having  the  sacred 
animals  also  with  him,  pursued  after  the  Jews,  be- 
cause they  were  carrying  away  with  them  the 
riches,  which  they  had  borrowed  of  the  Egyptians. 
Then,  they  say,  the  voice  of  God  commanded 
Moses  to  smite  the  sea  with  his  rod,  and  divide  it ; 
and  Moses,  when  he  heard  it,  touched  the  water 
with  it,  and  so  the  sea  parted  asunder,  and  the 
host  marched  through  on  dry  ground." 

From  these  direct  testimonies  to  the  histori- 
cal truth  of  the  Exodus,  we  may  now  turn  to 
the  less  striking,  but  perhaps  even  more  con- 

1  Fracjm.  Hist.  Gr.  vol.  iii.  pp.  223,  224. 


70  HISTORICAL   ILLUSTRATIONS 

vincing,  indirect  evidence,  which  is  furnished 
by  the  minute  agreement  of  the  sacred  narra- 
tive with  the  known  usages  of  Ancient  Egypt. 
The  narrative  of  Exodus  tells  us,  in  the 
first  place,  that  shortly  after  the  death  of 
The  oppression  Joscph  an  opprcssion  of  the  Israel- 

of  Lsrael  by  the     .  ^  ^^ 

•  Egyptians.  ites  Dcgan.  A  new  king  —  per- 
haps the  founder  of  a  new  dynasty  —  claimed 
the  whole  race  as  his  slaves,  and  proceeded 
to  engage  them  in  servile  labors,  placing  task- 
masters over  them,  whose  business  it  was 
to  "  make  their  lives  bitter  with  hard  bond- 
age "  (Ex.  i.  14).  The  work  assigned  to 
them  consisted  of  brickmaking,  building,  and 
severe  field-labor.  They  worked  under  the 
rod,  the  laborers  being  liable  to  be  "  smitten  " 
by  the  Egyptian  taskmasters  as  they  labored 
(ii.  11),  and  the  native  officers  being  punished 
by  flogging  if  the  tasks  of  the  men  under 
them  were  not  fulfilled  (v.  14).  On  the 
brickmakers  a  certain  "  tale  of  bricks  "  was 
imposed  (v.  8),  which  had  to  be  completed 
daily.  Straw  was  a  material  in  the  bricks ; 
and  this  was  at  first  furnished  to  the  laborers, 
but  afterwards  they  were  required  to  procure 
straw  for  themselves,  on  which  they  spread 
themselves  over  the  land  and  gathered  stubble 
(v.  12).  Details  are  wanting  with  respect  to 
their   other  employments;   but  in   one  place 


OF   THE   OLD   TESTAMENT.  71 

(Deut.  xi.  10)  we  find  it  implied  that  one  of 
the  main  hardships  of  the  field-work  was  the 
toil  of  irrigation. 

Almost  every  point  of  this  narrative  is  capa- 
ble of  illustration  from  the  Egyptian  monu- 
ments.    Notwithstanding  the  great  Almost  every 
abundance  of  stone  in  Egypt,  and  opITressidn^ * 
the  fact  that  most  of  the  grander  i'i"  E^^tiaa 
buildings  were  constructed  of  this  °>«'^'^°°^^'^t«- 
material,  yet  there  was  also  an  extensive  em- 
ployment  of   brick   in   the   country.^     Pyra- 
mids,2  houses,  tombs,  the  walls  of  towns,  for- 
tresses, and  the  sacred  inclosures  of  temples, 
were  commonly,  or,  at  any  rate,  frequently, 
built    of   brick  by  the  Egyptians.^     A  large 
portion   of  the   brick-fields    belonged   to   the 
monarch,  for  whose  edifices  bricks  were  made 
in  them,  stamped  with  his  name.*     Chopped 
straw  was  an  ordinary  material  in  the  bricks,^ 
being  employed  as  hair  by  modern  plasterers, 
to  bind  them  together,  and  make  them  more 

1  *  Immense  masses  of  brick  are  now  found  at  Belbers,  the 
modern  capital  of  Tharkiya,  i.  e.  Goshen,  and  in  the  adjoining 
district  (Cook's  Bible  Commentary,  vol.  i.  p.  252).  The  pyra- 
mids of  Lower  Egypt  were  not  built  by  the  Israelites,  but  be- 
long with  few  exceptions  to  an  earlier  period.  —  H. 

2  Herod,  ii.  136. 

3  Wilkinson  in  Rawlinson's  Herodotus,  vol.  ii.  p.  183,  2d 
ed. 

•*  Rosellini,  iT/owwmew^/,  vol.  ii.  p.  252;  Wilkinson,  Ancient 
Egyptians,  vol.  ii.  p.  97. 
5  Wilkinson,  vol.  i.  p.  50 ;  Rosellini,  vol.  ii.  pp.  252,  259,  etc. 


72  HISTORICAL  ILLUSTRATIONS 

firm  and  durable.  Captives  and  foreigners 
commonly  did  the  work  in  the  royal  brick- 
fields ;  and  Egyptian  taskmasters,  with  rods 
in  their  hands,  watched  their  labors,  and  pun- 
ished the  idle  with  blows  at  their  discretion.^ 
The  bastinado  was  a  recognized  punishment 
for  minor  offenses.^  "  Stubble  "  and  "  straw  " 
both  existed  in  Ancient  Egypt,  wheat  being 
occasionally  cut  with  a  portion  of  the  stalk ; 
while  the  remainder,  or  more  commonly,  the 
entire  stalk,  was  left  standing  in  the  fields.^ 
And  both  stubble  and  straw  have  been  found 
in  the  bricks.*  Finally,  though  agricultural 
labor  is  in  some  respects  light  in  Egypt,^  yet 
practically,  from  the  continued  succession  of 
crops,  from  the  intense   heat  of  the  climate, 

1  Wilkinson,  vol.  ii.  p.  42;  Rosellini,  vol.  ii.  p.  249. 

2  Wilkinson,  vol.  ii.  p.  41. 
8  Ibid.  vol.  iv.  pp.  5-83. 

4  Ibid.  vol.  i.  p.  50. 

*  See  the  wood-cuts  {Bibl.  Diet.  vol.  i.  p.  326,  Amer.  ed.) 
which  represent  the  servile  occupations  of  captives  in  Egypt 
(taken  from  paintings  at  Thebes,  in  Upper  Kgypt):  they  are 
such  as  digging  and  mixing  the  clay,  making  the  brick,  presence 
of  taskmasters  with  whips,  counting  the  tale  of  brick,  carrying 
them  to  the  overseers,  etc.  The  Hebrews  may  not  be  meant 
here,  but  their  Egyptian  life  is  illustrated  as  perfectly  as  if  the 
picture  had  been  drawn  for  them.  —  H. 

5  "The  Egyptians,"  says  Herodotus  (ii.  14),  "obtain  the 
fruits  of  the  field  with  less  trouble  than  any  other  people  in  the 
world.  They  have  no  need  to  use  either  the  plough  or  the 
hoe;  the  swine  tread  in  their  corn,  and  also  thrash  it."  Com- 
pare Wilkinson's  note  in  Rawlinson's  Herod,  vol.  ii.  p.  15,  2d 
ed. 


OF   THE   OLD   TESTAMENT.  73 

and  from  the  exertions  needed  for  irrigation, 
the  lot  of  the  cultivator  has  always  been,  and 
still  continues  to  be,  a  hard  one.^ 

Among  the  other  Egyptian  usages  intro- 
duced to  our  notice  in  Exodus,  the  most  re- 
markable are   the  f  oUomnff  :    The  The  general 

.  ,  picture  of 

employment  of  chariots,  on  a  larg-G  Egyptian  cus- 

f      V  .         ^     -.  ,  to»"s  in  Exo- 

scale,  m  war  (xiy.  6,  7)  ;  the  prac-  dusiscon- 

'  >  '      >'  '  11       firmed  by  the 

tlCe  of    the    kmg  to  go  out  to  battle    monuments. 

in  person  (lb.  8)  ;  the  hearing  of  complaints 
and  transaction  of  business  by  the  king  in 
person  (v.  15)  ;  the  possession,  by  most 
Egyptians,  of  articles  in  gold  and  silver  (xii. 
35)  ;  the  cultivation,  in  spring,  of  the  follow- 
ing crops  chiefly  —  wheat,  barley,  flax,  and 
rye,  or  spelt  (ix.  32)  ;  the  keeping  of  cattle, 
partly  in  the  fields,  partly  in  stables  (ix.  3, 
19)  ;  the  storing  of  water  in  vessels  of  wood 
and  stone  (vii.  19)  ;  the  employment  of  mid- 
wives  (i.  15-21)  ;  the  use  of  the  papyrus  for 
boats  (ii.  3),  of  furnaces  (ix.  8),  ovens  (viii. 
3),  kneading-troughs  (lb.),  walking-sticks 
(vii.  10,  12),  hand-mills  (xi.  5),  bitumen  (ii. 
3),  and  pitch  (lb.).  To  these  the  following 
may  be  added  from  the  later  books  of  the 
Pentateuch  —  the  necessary  employment  of 
irrigation  in  agriculture  (Deut.  xi.  10)  ;  the 

1  See  Kalisch,  Comment,  on  Exodus^  p.  10 ;  and  compare  Wil- 
kinson, vol.  iv.  pp.  41-101. 


74  HISTORICAL  ILLUSTRATIONS 

use,  as  common  articles  of  food,  of  fisli,  cu- 
cumbers, melons,  onions,  garlic,  and  leeks 
(Num.  xi.  5)  ;  and  the  practice  of  the  kings 
to  keep  large  studs  of  horses  (Deut.  xvii. 
16). 

Now  here  again,  as  in  the  later  chapters  of 
Genesis,  almost  every  custom  recorded  can  be 
Single  excep-  Confirmed  either  from  the  ancient 
Jy  pSeSt™'*^  accounts  of  Egyptian  manners 
practice.  wliich  havc   comc    down  to  us,  or 

from  the  monuments,  or  from  both.  The  only 
exception,  of  any  importance,  is  the  employ- 
ment of  midwives,  which  was  probably  rare, 
as  it  is  in  the  East  generally,  and  which  was 
also  of  a  nature  that  would  have  been  felt  to 
render  it  unfit  for  representation.  Even  here, 
however,  where  ancient  illustration  fails,  a 
strong  confirmation  of  the  narrative  has  been 
obtained  by  modern  inquiry,  the  curious  ex- 
pression, "  when  ye  see  them  upon  the  stools," 
being  in  remarkable  accordance  with  the  mod- 
ern Egyptian  practice,  as  stated  by  Mr.  Lane.^ 
"  Two  or  three  days,"  he  says,  "  before  the 
expected  time  of  delivery,  the  layah  (mid- 
wife) conveys  to  the  house  the  kursee  elwild- 
deh,  a  chair  of  a  peculiar  form,  upon  which 
the  patient  is  to  be  seated  during  the  birth." 

The  monuments  show  that  in  Ancient  Egypt 

1  Modern  Egyptians,  vol.  iii.  p.  142. 


OF   THE    OLD   TESTAMENT.  75 

by  far  the  most  important  arm  of  the  military 
seiTice  was  the  chariot  force.  The  king,  the 
princes,  and  all  the  chiefs  of  importance  fought 
from  chariots.^  Diodoriis  made  the  number 
of  them  in  the  army  of  Sesostris,  27,000,^  and 
though  this  is  a  gross  exaggeration,  it  shows 
the  feeling  of  the  Greeks  as  to  the  very  exten- 
sive employment  of  chariots  by  the  earlier 
monarchs.  Cavalry  were  employed  to  a  very 
small  extent,  if  at  all ;  ^  and  though  this,  at 
first  sight,  may  seem  at  variance  with  the 
Mosaic  narrative  (Ex.  xiv.  9,  17,  18,  23,  etc. ; 
XV.  1),  yet  a  careful  examination  of  the  orig- 
inal text  will  lead  to  the  conclusion  that  the 
force  which  pursued  the  Israelites  was  com- 
posed of  chariots  and  infantry  only.*  The 
practice  of  the  king  to  lead  out  his  army 
in  person,  is   abundantly  evident,^    and  will 


1  Wilkinson,  vol.  i.  pp.  335-341;  Rosellini,  vol.  ii.  p.  240. 

2  Died.  Sic.  i.  54. 

8  Rosellini  inclines  to  the  belief  that  the  ancient  Egyptians 
had  no  cavaln'  (vol.  ii.  pp.  232-259).  Sir  G.  Wilkinson  thinks 
they  may  have  had  a  cavalry  force,  but  that  it  was  scanty  (vol. 
i.  pp.  289,  290).  Both  agree  that  no  cavalry  are  represented  ou 
the  monuments.  Herodotus  once  speaks  of  an  Egyptian  com- 
mander as  on  horseback  (ii.  162).  Diodorus,  on  the  other  hand, 
gives  Sesostris  a  numerous  cavalry  (i.  54). 

4  See  the  arguments  of  Hengstenberg  (pp.  127-129),  and 
Kalisch  {Comment,  on  Exodus,  pp.  182-184).  The  term  trans- 
lated "  horsemen  "  in  our  Version,  refers  probably  to  the  riders 
in  the  chariots. 

6  Herod,  ii.  102;  Wilkinson,  i.  pp.  63,  65,  83,  &c. 


76  HISTORICAL   ILLUSTRATIONS 

scarcely  be  doubted  by  any.  It  was  indeed  a 
practice  universal  at  the  time  among  all  Orien- 
tal sovereigns.  The  hearing  of  complaints  and 
pronouncing  of  judgments  by  the  king  in  per- 
son, was  also  very  usual  throughout  the  East ; 
and  the  existence  of  the  custom  in  Egypt  is  il- 
lustrated by  many  passages  in  ancient  authors.^ 
The  representations  with  respect  to  Egyp- 
tian agriculture,  feeding  of  cattle,  food,  dress, 
and  domestic  habits  are  similarly  borne  out 
both  by  the  ancient  remains  and  the  ancient 
authorities.  The  cultivation  depicted  on  the 
monuments  is  especially  that  of  wheat,  flax, 
barley,  and  another  grain,  which  is  believed 
to  correspond  with  the  cussemeth^  ".rye,"  or 
"  spelt,"  of  the  Hebrews.^  Fish  and  vege- 
tables formed  the  chief  food  of  the  lower 
classes;  and  among  the  vegetables  especially 
affected,  gourds,  cucumbers,  onions,  and  gar- 
lic are  distinctly  apparent.^  According  to 
Herodotus,  some  tribes  of  the  Egyptians  lived 
entirely  on  fish,  which  abounded  in  the  Nile, 
the  canals,  and  the  lakes,  especially  in  the 
Birket-el-Keroun,  or  Lake  Moeris.*  The  mon- 
uments  represent   the  catching,  salting,  and 

1  See  Herod,  ii.  115,  121,  §3;  129,  173. 

2  Wilkinson,  voL  ii.  p.  398;  vol.  iv.  pp.  85-99. 

8  Ibid.  voL  ii.  pp.  370-374 ;  and  compare  voL  i.  p.  277,  and 
Herod,  ii.  125. 
*  Herod,  ii.  92,  93,  149;  iii.  91. 


OF   THE   OLD   TESTAMENT.  77 

eating  of  this  viand.^  We  also  see  on  the 
monuments  that  cattle  were  kept,  both  in  the 
field,  where  they  were  liable  to  be  overtaken 
by  the  inundation,^  and  also  in  stalls  or  sheds.^ 
The  wide-spread  possession,  by  the  Egyptians, 
of  articles  in  gold  and  silver,  vases,  goblets, 
necklaces,  armlets,  bracelets,  earrings,  and 
finger-rings  is  among  the  facts  most  copiously 
attested  by  the  extant  remains,*  and  is  also 
illustrated  by  the  ancient  writers,  who  even 
speak  of  so  strange  an  article  as  "  a  golden 
footpan."^  The  employment  of  furnaces, 
ovens,  and  kneading-trough s,  the  common 
practice  of  carrying  staves  or  walking-sticks, 
and  the  use  of  hand-mills  for  grinding  corn,  are 


1  Wilkinson,  vol.  iii.  pp.  53,  56;  ii.  p.  401. 

2  Ibid.  vol.  iv.  pp.  101,  102. 

8  Ibid.  vol.  ii.  p.  134.  Compare  Cambridge  Essays  ior  1S58, 
p.  249. 

*  "The  ornaments  of  gold  found  in  Egypt,"  says  Sir  G. 
Wilkinson,  "  consist  of  rings,  bracelets,  armlets,  necklaces,  ear- 
rings, and  numerous  trinkets  belonging  to  the  toilet "  (vol. 
iii.  p.  225).  And  again,  "  Gold  and  silver  vases,  statues,  and 
other  objects  of  gold  and  silver,  of  silver  inlaid  with  gold,  and 
of  bronze  inlaid  with  the  precious  metals,  were  also  common  at 
the  same  time  "  (Ibid.).     Compare  pp.  370-377. 

*  The  Egyptian  Museums  (London,  Paris,  Berlin)  contain 
almost  as  great  a  variety  of  ornaments  for  personal  decoration 
(ivory,  gold,  silver),  as  are  known  to  the  fashions  of  modern  life. 
They  have  been  found  in  Egyptian  tombs,  pyramids,  and  mum- 
my-pits and  many  of  them  must  be  as  old  as  the  age  of  the 
Pharaohs  and  the  pyramids.  —  H. 

«  Herod,  ii.  172. 


78  HISTORICAL   ILLUSTRATIONS 

likewise  certified,  either  by  representations  or 
by  remains  found  in  the  country.^ 

The  storing  of  water  in  vessels  of  wood  and 
stone,  which  is  impUed  in  Ex.  vii.  19,  is  a  pe- 
pecuiiarcus-  culiarly  Egyptian  custom,  scarcely 
i?'storingof  known  elsewhere.  The  abundance 
water.  q£  water  in  the  Nile,  and  its  wide 

dijffiusion  by  means  of  canals,  render  reser- 
voirs, in  the  ordinary  sense  of  the  word,  un- 
necessary in  Egypt ;  and  water  would  never 
be  stored,  if  it  were  not  for  the  necessity  of 
purifying  in  certain  seasons  the  turbid  fluid 
furnished  by  the  Nile,  in  order  to  render  it  a 
palatable  beverage.  For  this  purpose  it  has 
alwaj'^s  been,  and  is  still,  usual  to  keep  the 
Nile  water  in  jars,  stone  troughs,  or  tubs,  un- 
til the  sediment  is  deposited,  and  the  fluid 
rendered  fit  for  drinking.^ 

The  practice  of  making  boats  out  of  the 
papyrus,  recorded  in  Ex.  ii.  3,^  is  also  spe- 
2.Boateofpa-  ^ially  Egyptian,  and /was  not  in 
pyrus.  vogue   elscwhcre.     It  is    distinctly 

mentioned  by  Herodotus,  Plutarch,  and  many 

1  On  the  employment  of  furnaces,  see  Wilkinson,  vol.  iii.  p. 
164;  of  ovens  and  kneading-troughs,  vol.  v.  p.  385;  of  walk- 
ing-sticks, vol.  iii.  pp.  386,  387;  and  of  hand-mills,  vol.  ii.  p. 
118. 

2  Wilkinson,  vol.  iv.  p.  100;  Pococke,  Travels,  vol.  i.  p.  312. 
8  The  word  rendered  "  bulrushes  "  in  our  Version  {gomeh),  is 

generally  admitted  to  signify  some  kind  of  papyrus  —  probably 
not  that  from  which  paper  was  made,  but  a  coarser  kind. 


OF   THE   OLD   TESTAMENT.  79 

other  ancient  writers,^  and  is  thoiiglit  to  be 
traceable  on  the  monuments.^  The  caulking 
of  these  boats  with  pitch  and  bitumen,  a  prac- 
tice not  mentioned  anywhere  but  in  Exodus, 
is  highly  probable  iii  itself ;  and  is  so  far  in 
accordance  with  the  remains,  that  both  pitch 
and  bitumen  are  found  to  have  been  used  by 
the  Egyptians.^  Bitumen,  which  is  not  an 
Egyptian  product,  appears  to  have  been  im- 
ported from  abroad,  and  was  even  sometimes 
taken  as  tribute  from  the  Mesopotamian 
tribes,*  with  whom  the  ancient  Egyptians  had 
frequent  contests. 

In  illustration  of  the  extensive  possession 
of  horses  by  the  early  kings  of  Egypt,  it  will 
be  sufficient  to  adduce  a  passage  3.  Extensive 
from  Diodorus,  who  says  that  "  the  horses. 
monarchs  before  Sesostris  maintained,  along 
the  banks  of  the  Nile  between  Memphis  and 
Thebes,  two  hundred  stables,  in  each  of  which 
were  kept  a  hundred  horses."  ^  Herodotus 
also  notices  that,  prior  to  the  reign  of  Sesos- 
tris, horses  and  carriages  were  very  abundant 
in  Egypt,  but  that  subsequently  they  became 

1  Herod,  ii,  96 ;  Plut.  De  hid.  et   Os.  §  18 ;  Theophrast.  De 
Plantls,  IV.  9;  Plin.  H.  N.  xiii.  11;  etc. 

2  Wilkinson,  vol.  ii.  pp.  60,  185. 

8  Ibid.  vol.  iii.  p.  186;  Rosellini,  vol.  i.  p.  249. 

4  Wilkinson,  in  Rawlinson's  Herodotus,  vol.  i.  p.  254. 

5  Diod.  Sic.  i. 


80  HISTORICAL  ILLUSTRATIONS 

comparatively  uncommon,  since  the  intersec- 
tion of  the  whole  country  by  canals  rendered 
it  unsuitable  for  their  employment.^  They 
were  still,  no  doubt,  bred  and  employed,  and 
even  exported  (1  Kings  x.  29),  to  a  certain 
extent ;  but  from  about  the  time  of  the  nine- 
teenth dynasty,  Egypt  ceased  to  be  a  great 
horse-breeding  country. 

Further,  it  may  be  observed  that  the  state 
of  the  arts  among  the  Hebrews  when  they 
Hebrew  art  at  quitted  Egypt,  which  has  some- 
such^i^mlght  times  been  objected  to  as  unduly 
i^rnt^S"  advanced,  is  in  entire  accordance 
^ypt-  with  the  condition  of  art  in  Egypt 

at  the  period.  The  Egyptian  civilization  of 
the  eighteenth  and  nineteenth  dynasties  em- 
braces all  the  various  arts  and  manufactures 
necessary  for  the  construction  of  the  Taber- 
nacle and  its  appurtenances,  for  the  elaborate 
dress  of  the  priests,  and  for  the  entire  cere- 
monial described  in  the  later  books  of  the 
Pentateuch.  The  employment  of  writing,  the 
arts  of  cutting  and  setting  gems,  the  power  of 
working  in  metals  —  and  especially  in  gold,  in 
silver,  and  in  bronze,  —  skill  in  carving  Avood, 
the  tanning  and  dyeing  of  leather,  the  manu- 
facture of  fine  linen,  the  knowledge  of  em- 
broidery,   the   dyeing  of  textile   fabrics,  the 

1  Herod,  ii.  108. 


OF   THE   OLD   TESTAMENT.  81 

employment  of  gold  thread,  the  preparation 
and  use  of  highly-scented  unguents,  are  parts 
of  the  early  civilization  of  Egypt,  and  were 
probably  at  their  highest  perfection  about  the 
time  that  the  Exodus  took  place.^  Although 
the  Hebrews,  while  in  Egypt,  were,  for  the 
most  part,  mere  laborers  and  peasants,  still  it 
was  natural  that  some  of  them,  and,  even 
more,  that  some  of  the  Egyptians  who  accom- 
panied them  (Ex.  xiii.  38),  should  have  been 
acquainted  with  the  various  branches  of  trade 
and  manufactures  established  in  Egypt  at  the 
time.  Hence  there  is  nothing  improbable  in 
the  description  given  in  the  Pentateuch  of  the 
Ark  and  its  surroundings,  since  the  Egyptian 
art  of  the  time  was  quite  equal  to  their  pro- 
duction. 

The  sojourn  of  the  Israelites  in  the  wilder- 
ness for  forty  years  removed  them  so  entirely, 
during    that    space,   from   contact  no  historical 

,   -  1  •    I       •  1  1  illustratioa  of 

With  any  historic  people,  that  we  thesojoura  ia 

,     ,        f>      t      »  -I  the  wilderness 

cannot  expect  to  lind,  m  the  pro-  possible. 
fane  records  that  have  come  down  to  us,  any- 

1  See  Hengstenberg,  ^gypten  und  Mose,  ch.  v.  pp.  133-143. 

*  The  proper  title  of  the  above  work  is  Die  Biicher  Moseys 
und  Aegypten  (1st  ed.  1841).  See  also  R.  S.  Poole  on  "  Egypt," 
in  Smith's  Bible  Dictionary  (1863).  Dr.  J.  P.  Thompson  adds 
an  important  supplement  in  Hurd  and  Houghton's  ed.  (1867). 
The  two  writers  furnish  a  very  complete  view  of  the  Egyptology 
of  the  subject.  —  H. 


82  HISTORICAL   ILLUSTRATIONS 

thing  to  confirm  or  illustrate  the  sacred  nar- 
rative. That  narrative  must  rest,  first,  on  the 
profound  conviction  of  its  truthfulness  which 
remained  forever  impressed  upon  the  con- 
sciousness of  the  people ;  secondly,  on  its 
geographic  accuracy,  and  on  the  perfect  ac- 
cordance mth  fact  of  what  may  be  called  its 
local  coloring ;  ^  and,  thirdly,  on  the  quasi- 
certainty  that  it  is  the  production  of  an  eye- 
witness. It  may  be  added,  that  the  circum- 
stances recorded  are  too  little  creditable  to  the 
Hebrew  people  for  any  national  historiogra- 
pher to  have  invented  them. 

Recent  criticism   has   attacked  chiefly  the 

numbers  in  the  narrative .^    There  is  certainly 

a  difficulty  in  understand inj'   how 

A  difficulty  y  ^ 

connected  with  a  populatiou  excccdmg  two  mill- 
ions could  have  supported  itself, 
together  with  its  flocks  and  herds,  in  a  tract 
which,  at  the  present  day,  barely  suffices  to 
sustain  some  tribes  of  Bedouins  numbering, 
perhaps,  six  thousand  souls.^  Had  the  narra- 
tive made  no  mention  of  miraculous  mainte- 
nance, this  difficulty  would  have  been  almost 
insurmountable.  As,  however,  the  writer  ex- 
pressly declares  that  a  miraculous   supply  of 

1  See  Stanley,  Sinnl  and  Palestine,  part  i.  pp.  1-57. 

2  Colenso,  The  Pentateuch  and  the  Booh  of  Joshua  Criticalltf 
Examined,  pp.  31-138. 

8  Stanley,  Sin.  and  Pal.  p.  22. 


OF   THE   OLD   TESTAMENT.  83 

food  was  furnished  daily  during  the  whole 
period  of  the  sojourn  to  the  entire  people,  the 
main  objection  disappears.  We  have  only  to 
suppose  that,  although  the  tract,  compared 
with  Egypt,  and  even  with  Palestine,  was  a 
desert,  yet  that  it  was  considerably  better  sup- 
plied with  water,  and  so  with  pasturage, 
than  it  is  at  the  present  day.  There  are 
many  indications  that  this  was  the  case.^ 
The  Israelites  apparently  needed  a  miraculous 
supply  of  water  twice  only.  If  so,  wells 
must  have  been  numerous  and  abundant, 
water  being  to  be  found  in  most  places  at  a 
little  distance  from  the  surface.  But  wherever 
in  the  desert  this  is  the  case,  there  will  occur 
oases,  and  a  sufficient  vegetation  for  flocks  and 
herds,  of  a  considerable  size.  The  Israelites, 
no  doubt,  spread  themselves  widely  over  the 
peninsula  during  the  forty  years ;  and  as  the 
area  of  the  desert  is  at  least  fifteen  hundred 
square  miles,  the  numerous  flocks  and  herds 
wherewith  they  entered  the  country  may  have 
maintained  themselves,  though,  it  is  to  be  re- 
marked, we  are  not  told  whether  their  numbers 
diminished  ov  no, 

In  any  O^ae,  a  difficulty  which  is   merely 
numevio^l  i^  of  no  great  account.     Numbers, 

1  Stanley,  pp.  23-27;   and  Hayman,  in  Blbl.  Diet.  vol.  iii. 
pp.  1752-1754;  and  vol.  iv.  pp.  3519,  3520,  Amer.  ed. 


84  HISTORICAL  ILLUSTRATIONS 

whicli,  in  early  times,  so  far  as  we  have  any 
evidence  on  the  subject,^  were  always  ex- 
pressed, in  some  abbreviated  form,  by  conven- 
tional signs,  are  far  more  liable  to  corruption 
than  any  other  parts  of  ancient  manuscripts  ; 
an4  the  numerical  statements  of  the  sacred 
writers  have  undoubtedly  suffered  in  tran- 
scription to  a  large  extent.  The  "  six  hun- 
dred thousand  that  were  men  "  of  Ex.  xii.  37, 
may  be  a  corruption  of  an  original  "  one  hun- 
dred thousand"  or  "sixty  thousand";  and 
the  numbers  in  Num.  i.,  ii.,  may  have  suf- 
fered similarly.  The  great  fact  recorded, 
which  stands  out  as  historically  true,  and 
which  no  petty  criticism  can  shake,  is  the  exit 
from  Egypt  of  a  considerable  tribe, 
the  progenitors  of  the  later  Hebrew 
nation  and  their  settlement  in  Palestine,  after 
a  sojourn  of  some  duration  in  the  wilderness. 
Of  this  fact  the  Hebrews  and  Egyptians  were 
equally  well  convinced ;  and  as  both  nations 
enjoyed  a  contemporary  literature,  and  had 
thus  the  evidence  on  the  point  of  witnesses 
living  at  the  time,  only  an  irrational  skepticism 
can  entertain  a  doubt  respecting  it. 

1  On  the  numerical  signs  used  in  Ancient  Egypt,  see  Wilkin- 
son in  Rawlinson's  Herodotus,  vol.  ii.  p.  51,  and  compare  An- 
cient Egyptians^  vol.  iv.  pp.  130,  131.  On  the  signs  used  by 
the  early  Babylonians,  see  Rawlinson's  Ancitnt  Monarchies^ 
vol.  i.  pp.  129-131. 


OF  THE   OLD   TESTAMENT.  85 

[*  The  later  explorations  of  the  Sinaitic 
peninsula,  show  that  the  alleged  difficulty  of 
subsistence  in  the  case  of  the  Israelites,  during 
the  forty  years  in  the  wilderness,  has  been  very 
much  exaggerated.  The  Rev.  F.  W.  Holland, 
for  example,  who  has  repeatedly  traversed 
that  region,  says  :  "  Large  tracts  of  the  north- 
ern portion  of  the  plateau  of  the  Tih^  which 
are  now  desert,  were  evidently  formerly  under 
cultivation.  The  Gulf  of  Suez  (probably  by 
means  of  an  artificial  canal  connecting  it  with 
the  Bitter  Lakes)  once  extended  nearly  fifty 
miles  farther  north  than  it  does  at  present, 
and  the  mountains  of  Palestine  were  well 
clothed  with  trees.  Thus  there  formerly  ex- 
isted a  rain-making  area  of  considerable  ex- 
tent, which  must  have  added  largely  to  the 
dews  and  rains  of  Sinai.  Probably,  also,  the 
peninsula  itself  was  formerly  much  more 
thickly  wooded. 

"  The  amount  of  vegetation  and  herbage  in 
the  peninsula,  even  at  the  present  time,  has 
been  very  much  underrated ;  and  a  slight  in- 
crease in  the  present  rain-fall  would  produce 
an  enormous  addition  to  the  amount  of  pas- 
turage. I  have  several  times  seen  the  whole 
face  of  the  country,  especially  the  wadies, 
marvelously  changed  in  appearance  by  a 
single  shower. 


GO  HISTORICAL   ILLUSTRATIONS 

"  It  is  a  great  mistake  to  suppose  that  the 
convent  gardens  at  the  foot  of  Jebel  Musa^ 
and  those  in  Wady  Feirdn,  and  at  Tor,  mark 
the  only  three  spots  where  any  considerable 
amount  of  cultivation  could  exist  in  the  penin- 
sula. Hundreds  of  old  monastic  gardens,  with 
copious  wells  and  springs,  are  scattered  over 
the  mountains  throughout  the  granite  dis- 
tricts ;  and  I  could  mention  at  least  twenty 
streams  which  are  perennial,  excepting  per- 
haps in  unusually  dry  seasons. 

"  It  has  been  said  that  the  present  physical 
conditions  of  the  country  are  such  as  to  render 
it  utterly  impossible  that  the  events  recorded 
in  the  book  of  Exodus  can  ever  have  occurred 
there.  It  is  wonderful,  however,  how  appar- 
ent difficulties  melt  away  as  our  acquaintance 
with  the  country  increases.  I  see  no  difficulty 
myself  in  the  provision  of  sufficient  pastur- 
age for  the  flocks  and  herds,  if,  as  I  have 
shown,  there  are  good  reasons  for  supposing 
the  rain-fall  was  in  former  days  larger  than 
it  is  at  present ;  and  with  regard  to  the  cattle, 
I  will  point  out  one  important  fact,  which 
appears  to  me  to  have  been  overlooked, 
namely,  that  they  were  probably  used  as 
beasts  of  burden ;  and,  in  addition  to  other 
things,  carried  their  own  water,  sufficient  for 
several   days,  slung  in  water-skins   by  their 


OF   THE   OLD   TESTAMENT.  8T 

side,  just  as  Sir  Samuel  Baker  found  them, 
doing  at  the  present  day  in  Abyssinia."  ^ 
The  statements  of  Bishop  Colenso,  so  differ- 
ent from  this  testimony  of  experienced  travel- 
lers, are  exaggerated  and  misleading.] 

1  *  See  Recent  Explorations  in  the  Peninsula  of  Sinai,  by 
Rev.  F.  W.  Holland  (1869);  and  statements  of  the  same  writer 
in  Smith's  Bibl.  Diet.  vol.  iv.  p.  3640,  Amer.  ed.  — H. 


88  HISTORICAL  ILLUSTRATIONS 


CHAPTER   IV. 
JOSHUA  TO  SAMUEL. 

[*  The  book  of  Joshua  relates  especially  to 
the  land  of  Canaan  and  its  distribution  among 
the  twelve  tribes.  Hence  this  book  is  pecul- 
iarly topographical  in  its  character ;  and  the 
more  so  because  the  entire  political  and  relig- 
ious life  of  the  Hebrews  was  interwoven  like 
a  net-work  with  the  geography  of  the  country. 
This  book  in  particular,  says  the  great  ge- 
ographer, Ritter,  has  been  subjected  to  the 
severest  scrutiny,  inasmuch  as  the  scene  of  it 
lies  to  such  an  extent  on  the  west  of  the  Jordan 
now  so  fully  explored.  Its  notices  not  only  of 
distinct  regions,  but  of  valleys,  mountains,  vil- 
lages, have  been  confirmed,  often  with  surpris- 
ing certainty  and  particularity.  The  great 
geographer  refers,  as  an  example  of  this,  to 
Joshua's  second  campaign  in  the  south  of  Pal- 
estine (see  Josh.  xi.  16  f.,  and  xv.  21  ff.). 
He  shows  that  the  divisions  of  the  country 
there  into  five  parts,  the  scene  of  that  expe- 
dition, rests  upon  a  basis  of  geographical 
conditions   which  none    but   an   eye-witness 


OF   THE   OLD   TESTAMENT.  89 

could  have  remarked.  He  shows  in  addition 
to  this  general  accuracy  in  the  outline,  that 
the  specialities  are  equally  true ;  that  many 
of  the  cities  and  towns  mentioned  in  the  book 
retain  to  this  day  their  ancient  names,  and 
also  occur  together,  precisely  as  the  sacred 
writers  represent  them  as  arranged  of  old.^ 

Another  similar  example  may  be  drawn 
from  Saul's  last  and  fatal  battle  on  Gilboa  (1 
Sam.  xxxi.  1  if.,  and  2  Sam.  i.  1  ff.),  which 
chronology  assigns  to  B.  c.  1055,  later  but  little 
than  the  traditionary  age  of  the  siege  of  Troy. 
Yet  the  scene  of  it  lies  now  mapped  out  before 
us  on  the  face  of  the  country  as  distinctly  as  if 
the  battle  had  been  fought  in  our  own  times. 
All  the  places  (Gilboa,  Jezreel,  Shunem,  Beth- 
shean ;  Aphek  only,  1  Sam.  xxix.  1,  as  yet  to 
be  excepted)  have  been  identified  under  their 
old  names,  and  at  such  points  precisely  as  the 
intimations  of  the  history  and  the  course  of 
the  battle  presuppose.  A  person  may  start 
from  any  one  of  them  and  make  the  circuit 
of  them  all  in  a  few  hours.  Such  examples 
are  becoming  every  day  more  and  more  fre- 
quent in  the  progress  of  Palestine  explora- 
tions. As  geographers  and  tourists  traverse 
the  land  in  every  direction,  and  ask  the  names 

1  *  Ritter's  EinhUch  auf  Pulastina  u.  seine  Christlicke  BevSl^ 
kei-ung  (Berlin,  1852).  — H. 


90  HISTORICAL  ILLUSTRATIONS 

of  towns,  villages,  brooks,  heaps  of  ruins,  and 
the  like,  they  have  the  old  names  given  back 
to  them  from  the  mouth  of  the  people,  though 
unheard  of  (out  of  the  country)  since  last 
mentioned  in  these  oldest  records  of  human 
history.! 

We  have  a  similar  testimony  to  the  geo- 
graphical accuracy  of  the  Pentateuch  fur- 
nished by  Messrs.  Holland  and  Palmer,  who 
have  lately  explored  so  thoroughly  the  Sin- 
aitic  Peninsula.  "  The  encampment  by  the 
Red  Sea,  mentioned  in  Num.  xxxiii.  10,  proved 
that  the  Israelites  kept  down  the  coast  after 
crossing  the  Red  Sea  somewhere  in  the  neigh- 
borhood of  Suez.  They  first '  went  three  days 
in  the  wilderness,  and  found  no  water '  (Ex.  xv. 
22).  They  then  came  to  Marah,  where  the 
water  was  bitter,  so  that  they  could  not  drink 
of  it  (23),  and  from  there  they  removed  to 
EKm,  whence  they  removed  to  their  encamp- 
ment by  the  Red  Sea.  Now  the  traveller  to 
this  day,  on  his  journey  to  Mount  Sinai,  after 
traversing  a  long  strip  of  barren  desert  with- 

1  *  For  gleanings  on  this  subject  of  the  topography  of  Scrip- 
ture, see  Van  de  Velde  (Travels  in  Syi:  and  Pal.  voL  ii.  p. 
368  ff.;  Stanley,  Sin.  and  Pal.  p.  339,  Amer.  ed.),  Porter's 
Handbook,  ii.  355  ff. ;  Thomson's  Land  and  Booh,  ii.  141  ff.,  and 
the  writer's  Illustrations  of  Scripture  (gathered  in  the  Holy 
Land),  pp.  118-126.  For  the  results  of  some  of  the  more  recent 
explorations  in  the  Desert  of  Sinai  and  in  Palestine  generally, 
see  especially  The  Recovery  of  Jerusalem,  pp.  1-435  (London 
and  New  York,  1871).  —  H. 


OF   THE  OLD   TESTAMENT.  91 

out  water  that  extends  down  the  coast,  comes 
to  a  district  where  the  water  is  brackish  and 
unwholesome  ;  a  day's  journey  next  brings  him 
to  an  elevated  plain,  where  there  are  wells  of 
water  and  palm-trees ;  and  then  he  descends 
again  to  the  sea-coast,  having  been  forced  to 
pass  round  the  back  of  a  mountain,  which 
reaches  out  into  the  sea.  Thus  the  character 
of  the  country  and  distances  from  point  to 
point,  exactly  agree  with  the  Bible  narrative. 
And  this  is  the  case  the  whole  way  to  Mount 
Sinai ;  for  next  comes  a  large  plain,  that  an- 
swers well  to  the  wilderness  of  Sin,  where  the 
Israelites  were  first  fed  with  manna  (Ex.  xvi. 
1)  ;  and  from  the  plains  one  of  the  principal 
wadies  affords  an  easy  road  to  Mount  Sinai, 
a  day's  journey  from  which  is  a  spot  which 
tradition  marks  as  the  site  of  the  battle  of 
Rephidim  (Ex.  xvii.  8  ff.),  and  which  agrees 
well  with  the  short  description  we  have  of 
that  battle-field.  So  mountainous  is  the 
country,  that  there  is  only  one  other  route 
which  could  possibly  have  been  followed  by 
the  Israelites  ;  and  the  mention  of  the  encamp- 
ment by  the  sea  (Num.  xxiii.  10)  renders  that 
almost  impossible.  Thus  the  features  of  the 
country  bear  out  and  explain  the  Bible  narra- 
tive ;  and  research  here,  as  elsewhere  in  Bible 
lands,  confirms  our  belief  in  the  truth  of  that 


92  HISTORICAL  ILLUSTRATIONS 

history  of  God's  chosen  people  which  has  been 
given  us  in  the  Holy  Scriptures."  ^] 

The  period  treated  in  the  books  of  Joshua 
and  Samuel  is  the  darkest  in  the  whole  history 
Isolated  posi-  of  the  Hcbrcw  people.  The  fugi- 
Hebrewfa^fter  tives  froui  Egypt,  who  by  Divine 
the  Exodus,  ^^j  effected  a  lodgment  in  the  land 
of  Canaan,  under  their  great  leader,  Joshua, 
were  engaged  for  some  hundreds  of  years  in 
a  perpetual  struggle  for  existence  with  the 
petty  tribes  among  whom  they  had  intruded 
themselves,  and  during  this  entire  period  were 
removed  from  connection  with  those  civilized 
nations  with  whom  writing  was  a  famiUar 
practice,  and  the  recording  of  contemporane- 
ous history  an  established  usage.  The  Moab- 
ites,  Ammonites,  Amorites,  Canaanites,  Midi- 
anites,  Philistines,  with  whom  the  IsraeHtes 
contended  with  eventual  success  for  the  space 
of  three  or  four  hundred  years  after  the  death 
of  Moses,  were  races  either  absolutely  without 
a  literature,  or  with  none  that  has  come  down 
to  US.2  It  is  true  that  history  continued  to  be 
written  during  the  period  under  consideration 

1  *  Sinai  and  Jerusalem ;  or.  Scenes  from  Bible  Lands,  by 
Rev.  F.  W.  Holland  (Tendon,  1872).  —  H. 

'■*  The  stele  of  Mesha  —  the  only  remnant  of  the  literature  of 
any  of  these  races  that  has  reached  our  times  —  belongs  to  a 
later  period  tlian  that  here  treated  of. 

*  See  Appendix  No.  2,  at  the  end  of  the  volume.  —  H. 


OF   THE   OLD   TESTAMENT.  93 

in  the  great  and  civilized  kingdoms  of  Egypt, 
Babylonia,  and  Assyria  ;  but  these  nations 
were  content  with  writing  their  own  histories, 
and  did  not  trouble  themselves  with  that  of 
their  neighbors,  unless  they  were  brought  into 
direct  contact  with  them.  Now  it  appears  dis- 
tinctly that  no  such  contact  took  place.  The 
Mesopotamian  powers  declined  in  military 
strength  after  the  time  of  Chedor-laomer. 
Assyria  shook  off  the  yoke  of  Babylon,  and 
the  two  nations  became  engaged  in  long  wars 
against  each  other.  The  Assyrian  records 
show  that  during  the  period  assigned  by 
Scripture  to  the  Hebrew  judges  and  the  early 
Hebrew  kings,  Assyrian  expeditions  were 
either  confined  Avithin  the  Euphrates,  or  at 
any  rate  went  no  further  than  Cappadocia 
and  Upper  Syria,  or  the  country  about  Anti- 
och  and  Aleppo. ^  And  though  Egypt  seems 
to  have  continued  for  some  time  after  the 
Exodus  to  be  a  great  military  state,  and  to 
have  conducted  expeditions  into  Northern 
Syria,  and  even  across  the  Euphrates,^  yet  in 
Southern    Syria  she  cared  only  to  Negative ac- 

'     ,     '      T  .  J.  .  1  i.    cord  of  their 

maintain  ner  possession  oi  the  coast  records  with 

route,   and    attempted    no    Subjuga-    and  Assyrian. 

1  See  Ancient  Monarchies,  vol.  ii.  pp.  312-327. 

2  Lenormant,  Manuel  d^Hlstoire,  vol.  ii.  pp.  436-448 ;  Wilkin- 
son in  Rawliiison's  Herodotus,  vol.  ii.  pp.  814,  315. 


94  HISTORICAL  ILLUSTRATIONS 

tion  of  the  tribes  inhabiting  the  highlands  on 
either  side  of  the  Jordan.  As  the  Hebrew 
records  are  silent  with  respect  to  Egypt  and 
Assyria  during  this  entire  period,  so  the  Egyp- 
tian and  Assyrian  inscriptions  are  silent  with 
respect  to  the  Hebrews.  If  there  is  not  a 
positive,  there  is  a  negative  accord,  between 
them.  From  the  Hebrews'  account  of  them- 
selves we  gather  that  during  their  long  period 
of  struggle  with  the  Canaanitish  nations,  they 
were  unmolested  by  either  Egypt  or  Assyria ; 
from  the  accounts  given  by  the  Egyptians  and 
Assyrians  of  the  same  period,  we  learn  that 
they  led  no  expeditions  into  the  country  occu- 
pied by  the  Hebrews  during  these  centuries. 

It  is  not  till  we  approach  the  close  of  the 
period  under  consideration  that  any  positive 
Tradition  of  historical  illustration  of  this  portion 
wuh'the  cl-"^  of  the  sacred  narrative  becomes  pos- 
Lrvedlii^^^'  sible.  One  curious  tradition  throws 
North  Africa.  ^  gleam  of  light  on  the  earlier  his- 
tory ;  but  otherwise  antiquity  is  silent,  until 
we  come  to  the  reign  of  David.  The  tradi- 
tion intended  is  one  that  appears  to  have  been 
current  in  the  western  part  of  North  Africa, 
where  the  natives  not  only  believed  themselves 
to  be  of  Canaanite  extraction,^  but  expressly 

1  S.  Augustine  says  of  the  rustics  in  his  part  of  Africa:  "In- 
terrogati  quid  sint,  Punice  respondent,  Chanani "  (Ep.  ad  Rem. ). 


OF  THE   OLD   TESTAMENT.  95 

derived  themselves  from  certain  fugitives,  who 
were  (they  said)  expelled  from  Palestine  by 
"  Joshua,  the  son  of  Nun,  the  plunderer."  So 
strong  was  the  conviction  upon  the  point,  that 
at  Tingis,  or  Tigisis,  the  modern  Tangiers, 
there  were  erected  near  the  great  fountain  of 
the  place,  two  pillars  of  white  marble  bearing 
an  inscription  to  this  effect  in  the  Phoenician 
language  and  character,  which  remained  to 
the  times  of  the  Lower  Empire.^ 

By  the  time  of  David  a  civilization  had 
arisen  in  the  near  vicinity  of  the  Hebrews  — 
whether  derived  from  theirs  or  not  profane  testi- 
is  uncertain  —  and  a  literature  had  "pe"? to  Da-^^" 
come  into  existence,  some  scanty  '^i'^'^wars. 
fragments  of  which  have  descended  the  stream 
of  time  to  our  day.  In  the  Phoenician  towns 
on  the  coast  of  the  Mediterranean,  and  again 
in  the  great  city  of  Damascus  in  the  interior, 
the  practice  of  recording  the  names  of  their 
kings  and  the  chief  events  of  their  reigns, 
seems  to  have  begun  about  this  time  ;  and 
classical  writers  have  preserved  to  us  certain 
notices  drawn  from  these  sources,  in  which 
David  and  his  acts  are  mentioned.  David,  it 
will  be  remembered  —  according  to  the  narra- 
tive in  Samuel,  —  after  chastising  the  Philis- 

i  See  Procop.  Bell.  Vandal,  ii.  10;  and  compare  Mor.  Clioren. 
Hist.  Armen.  i.  18,  and  Suidas  ad  voc.  Canaan. 


96  HISTORICAL  ILLUSTRATIONS 

tines,  made  war  upon  Hadadezer,  king  of 
Zobah,  and  defeated  him  (2  Sam.  viii.  3), 
whereupon  the  Syrians  of  Damascus  came  to 
the  aid  of  Hadadezer,  and  a  war  followed  be- 
tween the  Israelites  and  these  Syrians,  which 
terminated  in  the  complete  defeat  of  the  lat- 
ter, and  their  reduction  to  the  position  of 
tributaries.  This  war  was  mentioned  by  Nic- 
olas of  Damascus,  the  friend  of  Augustus 
Caesar,  who  evidently  derived  his  account  of  it, 
not  from  the  Jewish  Scriptures,  but  from  the 
Testimony  of    rccords  of  his  native  place.    "  After 

NicolausDa-         i  •     %»  i  •  i  t 

mascenus.  tuis,  he  said,  "  there  was  a  certain 
Hadad,  a  native  Syrian,  who  had  great  power: 
he  ruled  over  Damascus,  and  all  Syria,  except- 
ing Phoenicia.  He  likewise  undertook  a  war 
with  David,  the  King  of  Judasa,  and  con- 
tended against  him  in  a  number  of  battles ; 
in  the  last  of  them  all,  which  was  by  the  river 
Euphrates,  and  in  which  he  suffered  defeat, 
showing  himself  a  prince  of  the  greatest  cour- 
age and  prowess."  ^ 

The  ancient  Phoenician  historiographers, 
whose  works  were  carefully  studied,  and  rep- 
Testimony  of  resented  in  Greek,  by  two  writers 
Eupoiemon.  ^f  ^^^  ^^^^^  ^f  Alexander  the  Great 
—  Dius  and  Menander  of  Ephesus  —  spoke 
(we  are  told)  of  a  Hiram,  King  of  Tyre,  as 

1  Nic.  Dam.  Fr.  31. 


OF   THE   OLD   TESTAMENT.  97 

reigning  at  this  time,  and  appear  to  have 
noticed  certain  transactions  in  which  he  was 
engaged  with  David ;  at  least  Eupolemon 
must,  it  would  seem,  have  drawn  from  this 
source,  when  he  spoke  of  a  war  between 
Hiram  and  David,  which  is  not  mentioned  in 
the  Bible.  And  it  is  even  probable  that  the 
entire  account  of  David's  wars  in  the  same 
author,  which  is  certainly  not  drawn  from 
either  Samuel  or  Chronicles,  came  also  from 
this  same  quarter.  "  David,"  said  Eupole- 
mon,^ "  reduced  the  Syrians,  who  dwelt  by 
the  river  Euphrates,  and  Commagene^  and  the 
Assyrians  and  Phoenicians  who  dwelt  in  the 
land  of  Gilead  ;  and  he  made  war  on  the 
Edomites,  and  the  Ammonites,  and  Moabites, 
and  Iturceans  and  Nahatoeans  and  Nabdceans  ; 
moreover,  he  also  made  an  expedition  against 
Suron  (Huram  or  Hiram),  king  of  Tyre  and 
Phoenicia,  and  compelled  all  these  people  to 
pay  tribute  to  the  Jews."  This  narrative, 
which  seems  clearly  to  be  derived  from  non- 
Jewish  sources,  is  an  important  testimony  to  the 
truth  of  the  history  related  in  2  Sam.  viii.  and 
ix.  It  confirms  that  history  by  a  distinct 
mention  of  the  chief  conquests  of  David 
recorded  in  the  Bible,  while  it  adds  to  them 

1  See  the  fragments  of  Polyhistor  in  the  Fr.  Hist.  Gi\  vol.  iii. 
p.  225;  Fr.  18. 


98  HISTORICAL  ILLUSTRATIONS 

several  others,  which,  though  not  recorded  in 
Scripture,  are  intrinsically  not  improbable. 

Besides  these  direct  testimonies,  there  are 
a  certain  number  of  incidental  allusions  to  the 
Early  preemi-  couditiou  of  forcigu  uatious  iu  this 
oTerTyrectT-  portiou  of  the  Sacrcd  Volume, 
firmed.  wMch  admit  of  being  tested  by  a 

comparison  with  profane  records,  with  a  result 
which  is  in  every  case  favorable  to  the  his- 
torical accuracy  of  the  Biblical  writers.  For 
instance,  it  is  evident  to  the  careful  reader  of 
Scripture  that,  in  the  earlier  portion  of  the 
period  under  consideration,  a  preeminence 
over  the  other  Phoenician  cities  is  assigned  to 
Sidon  —  "Great  Sidon,"  as  she  is  called,^  — 
while  from  the  time  of  David  this  preeminency 
passes  away,  and  Tyre  steps  into  the  place 
which  Sidon  had  previously  occupied.  Now 
this  shift  in  the  balance  of  Phoenician  power, 
this  transfer  of  the  chief  authority  from  one 
city  to  another,  is  completely  borne  out  by 
profane  history,  which  tells  us,  in  the  first 
place,  that  Sidon  was  the  mother-city  of  all 
Phoenicia,^  and  further  indicates  in  a  variety 
of  ways  her  early  superiority  over  the  rest  of 

1  Josh.  xi.  8;  xix.  28.  Note  the  frequent  mention  of  Sidon 
in  Joshua  and  Judges  (Josh.  xiii.  4,  6;  Judg.  i.  31;  iii.  3; 
X.  12;  xviii.  7,  28);  and  contrast  the  single  mention  of  Tyre 
(Josh.  xix.  29). 

2  Justin.  Hist,  xviii.  3.     Strab.  Geofjraph.  i.  2,  §  33. 


OF   THE  OLD   TESTAMENT.  99 

the  Phoenician  towns.^  On  the  other  hand 
it  is  universally  acknowledged  that  Tyre  had 
the  preeminence  in  later  times  ;  and  if  we  were 
to  fix  the  date  of  the  revolution  from  profane 
histor}^  only,  we  should  have  to  place  it  about 
B.  c.  1050,  or  a  little  earlier,  — that  is,  shortly 
before  the  accession  of  David. 

Again,  the  narrative  of  Joshua  represents 
to  us  the  nation  of  the  Hittites  as  being,  at  the 
time    of   the   conquest   of    Canaan,    Power  of 

.       .  .  oi       •  Hittites  con- 

the  principal  power  m  Upper  Syria,  firmed. 
or  the  country  between  Palestine  and  the 
Euphrates. 2  This  fact  is  abundantly  con- 
firmed by  the  Egyptian  remains,  which  show 
us  the  Hittites  (^Shetd)  as  the  chief  opponent 
of  Egypt,  in  the  valley  of  the  Orontes,  during 
the  period  occupied  by  the  nineteenth  and 
twentieth  dynasties  of  Manetho,^  a  period 
which  must  certainly  include  within  it  the 
judgeship  of  Joshua.  The  later  power  of 
the  Hittites,  as  witnessed  by  the  Assyrian 
inscriptions,  accords  with  the  Scriptural  ac- 
count, but  does  not  directly  confirm  it,  since 
the  earliest  Assyrian  record*    in  which   the 

1  The  early  Egyptian  inscriptions  which  mention  the  Phoe- 
nician towns. give  Sidon  the  first  place.  Homer  mentions  Sidon 
repeatedly,  but  never  Tyre. 

2  See  Josh,  i,  4;  ix.  1;  xii.  8. 

8  Lenormant,  Manuel,  vol.  i,  pp.  399-441. 

*  Inscription  of  Ti (/lath- Pile ser  /.,  date  about  B.C.  1125. 


100  HISTORICAL  ILLUSTRATIONS 

Hittites  obtain  mention  is  not  anterior  to  the 
twelfth  century  B.  C,  or  from  two  to  three 
centuries  after  Joshua. 

As  the  Hittites  appear  in  Joshua  to  be  the 
dominant  race  to  the  north  of  GaUlee,  so  does 
Philistine        the  whole   narrative   from    Exodus 

power  con- 
firmed, to  Samuel  represent  the  Philistines 

as  the  dominant  people  of  the  tract  be- 
tween Judaea  and  Egypt. ^  Here,  once  more, 
the  Egyptian  records  agree,  since  they  assign 
to  the  Philistines  the  same  sort  of  lead  among 
the  enemies  of  Egypt  in  the  south  which 
belongs  to  the  Hittites  in  the  regions  of  the 
north.'^  Indeed,  so  sensible  are  the  Egyp- 
tians of  their  strength  that  they  finally 
consent  to  make  terms  with  this  people,  and 
giiarantee  them  in  the  possession  of  the  rich 
tract  about  Gaza,  Ashdod,  and  Ascalon.^ 

Enough  is  not  known  of  the  manners  and 
customs  of  the  Canaanitish  races  from  any 
source  independent  of  Scripture  to  permit 
much  illustration  of  the  period  between  Moses 
Manners  and     and  David,  from  a  consideration  of 

customs  de-         ,i  o     ,-i  ,•  •       • 

picted,  con-  the  usages  oi  these  nations  mci- 
prokfabieJ  dentally  noticed  by  the  sacred  writ- 
ers.    Still   there   are   a   few   such   points   to 

1  See  Josh.  xiii.  3.    Judg.  iii.  3;  x.  7;  xiii.  1.     1  Sam.  iv- 
xiii.  5-22,  etc. 

2  Brugsch,  Histoire  d^  Egypt e,  pp.  185-187. 
*  Lenormant,  Manuel,  vol.  i.  p.  144. 


OF   THE   OLDTPlKTSSfT.  101 

which  the  reader's  attention  may  be  called.  " 
The  military  power  of  the  northern  races, 
the  Hittites  and  their  allies,  is  represented  in 
Joshua  (xi.  4)  as  consisting  especially  in  the 
multitude  of  their  chariots.  This  agrees  with 
the  Egyptian  accounts,  which  similarly  make 
the  chariots  of  the  Sheta  their  main  force.^ 
The  worship  of  Ashtoreth  by  the  Canaanitish 
nations  generally  (Judg.  ii.  11-13),  accords 
with  a  hieroglyphic  inscription  of  Rameses  II. 
which  mentions  Astert  as  a  Hittite  divinity .^ 
The  general  character  of  the  desert  tribes, 
especially  the  Midianites  and  the  Amalekites, 
as  depicted  in  Judges  (vi.-viii.),  resembles 
closely  the  picture  which  the  Egyptians  draw 
of  the  Shaso.  The  gradual  increase  of  Philis- 
tine power  apparent  in  the  Scriptural  narrative 
harmoniz  's  with  the  parallel  decline  of  Egypt, 
which  th|^  monuments  indicate.^  The  curious 
name  —  Shophetim^  or  "  Judges  "  —  borne  by 
the  Hebrew  rulers  from  Othniel  to  Samuel, 
receives  light  from  the  parallel  term  Suffetes^ 
found  to  have  been  applied  to  the  chief 
magistrates  of  Phoenician  colonies.  In  other 
respects,  the  manners  and  customs  depicted 

1  Lenormant,  p.  413.     Compare  Bunsen's  Egypt,  vol.  iii.  p. 
175 ;  and  Cambridge  Essays  for  58,  p.  240. 

2  Bunsen,  p.  180. 

3  On  this  decline,  see  Wilkinson  in  Rawlinson's  Herodotv^^ 
vol.  ii.  p.  315;  Bunsen,  p.  218;  Lenormant,  pp.  445-451. 


102  HISTORICAL   ILLUSTRATIONS 

^can  only  be  pronounced  natural,  and  thor- 
oughly Oriental.  The  foot  of  the  conqueror 
placed  literally  on  the  person  of  the  conquered 
monarch  (Josh.  x.  24)  before  his  execution, 
the  cruel  practice  of  mutilation  (Judg.  i.  6,  7),^ 
the  custom  of  blood-feuds  (Josh.  xx.  3  ;  Judg. 
viii.  19),  the  intermixture  in  one  and  the 
same  country  of  a  dominant  people  and 
subject  tribes  (Judg.  i.  19-36),  the  hiding 
of  the  latter  when  grievously  oppressed,  in 
dens  and  caves  (lb.  vi.  2 ;  1  Sam.  xiii.  6), 
the  wearing  of  earrings  by  men  (Judg.  viii. 
24-26,  the  spying  of  women  through  a 
lattice  (lb.  v.  28),  the  employment  of  apo- 
logues (lb.  ix.  7-15),  the  setting  and 
solving  of  riddles  (lb.  xiv.  12-18),  the 
shaving  off  of  half  the  beard  in  derision 
(2  Sam.  x.  4),  these  and  a  hundj^d  other 
little  points  in  the  narrative  are  agreeable  to 
the  known  practice  of  Eastern  nations,  and 
indicate  that  accuracy  in  details  is  no  less  a 
characteristic  of  the  Sacred  Volume  than 
truthfulness  in  the  main  facts  of  the  his- 
tory. Such  accuracy  is  sometimes  found  in 
works  of  the  imagination,  where  it  is  necessary 
in  order  to  render  them  life-like,  and  where  it 


1  *  For  fuller  details  respecting  these  modes  of  punishment 
so  peculiar,  see  Smith's  Bibl.  Diet.  vol.  iii.  p.  2640  ff.,  Amer. 
ed.  -  H. 


OF   THE   OLD   TESTAMENT.  103 

is  the  result  of  much  study  and  contrivance ; 
but  it  is  scarcely  observable  in  any  but  a  faith- 
ful and  contemporary  history^  where  it  comes 
without  effort,  costs  no  thought,  and  scarcely 
presents  itself  at  all  distinctly  to  the  con- 
sciousness of  the  writer. 


104  HISTORICAL  ILLUSTRATIONS 


CHAPTER  V. 

KINGS   AND  CHRONICLES. 

The  kingdom  of  Solomon  is  one  of  the 
most  striking  facts  in  the  BibUcal  history.  A 
Short-lived  petty  nation,  which  for  some  hun- 
jews™  nder  ^  drcds  of  ycars   has  with   difficulty 

David  and  Sol-  •     ■     •        i  ,  •    , 

omon.  mamtamed  a  separate  existence  in 

the  midst  of  warlike  tribes,  each  of  which 
has  in  turn  exercised  dominion  over  it  and 
oppressed  it,  is  suddenly  raised  by  the  genius 
of  a  soldier  monarch  to  glory  and  greatness. 
An  empire  is  established  which  extends  from 
the  Euphrates  to  the  borders  of  Egypt,  a 
distance  of  450  miles ;  and  this  empire,  rapidly 
constructed,  enters  almost  immediately  on  a 
period  of  peace,  which  lasts  for  half  a  century. 
Wealth,  grandeur,  architectural  magnificence, 
artistic  excellence,  commercial  enterprise,  a 
position  of  dignity  among  the  great  nations 
of  the  earth,^  are  enjoyed  during  this  space; 
at  the  end  of  which  there  is  a  sudden  collapse, 
—  the  ruling  nation    is    split  in  twain,    the 

1  On  the  real  character  of  Solomon's  kingdom,  see  Dean 
Stanley's  {frticle  on  David,  in  the  Blbl  Diet.  vol.  i.  p.  408; 
and  vol.  i.  p.  551,  Amer.  ed. 


OP    THE   OLD   TESTAMENT.  105 

subject  races  fall  off,  and  the  preeminence 
lately  gained  being  wholly  lost ;  the  scene 
of  struggle,  strife,  oppression,  recovery,  in- 
glorious submission,  and  desperate  effort 
recommences.  To  persons  acquainted  only 
with  the  history  of  the  West,  the  whole 
series  of  events  appears  incredible  ;  the  entire 
analogy  of  history  seems  against  them,  since 
in  Occidental  records  they  have  no  parallel, 
and  an  inclination  is  naturally  felt  to  question 
their  historical  truth,  to  regard  them  as  either 
wholly  invented,  or  at  any  rate  as  grossly 
exaggerated. 

But  a  knowledge  of  the  history  of  the  East 
removes  these  impressions.  In  the  East'such 
a  series  of  events  is  the  reverse  of  Numerous  ori- 
abnormal.  The  rapid  rise  of  petty  "^^^  p*"^^^^^'- 
states  to  greatness,  the  sudden  change  of  an 
oppressed  into  a  dominant  power,  is  the  rule. 
Babylon,  Media,  Persia,  Parthia,  all  illustrate 
it.  Duration  of  empire  when  obtained  is 
more  irregular.  Sometimes  a  great  power, 
when  once  formed,  holds  its  own  for  many 
centuries,  e.  g.  Assyria,  Parthia,  Sassanian 
Persia.  But  at  other  times  a  collapse  occurs 
after  a  very  brief  space.  The  Babylonian 
empire  lasted,  at  the  utmost,  eighty-seven, 
the   Median  seventy-five  years.^     This  latter 

1  Ancient  Monarchies,  vol    iii.    pp.  175,    222;    Manual  of 
Ancient  History,  p.  34. 


106  HISTORICAL   ILLUSTRATIONS 

instance  furnishes  almost  an  exact  parallel  to 
the  empire  of  the  Jews  ;  for  the  whole  period 
of  the  empire  is  made  up  of  two  reigns,  those 
of  a  father  and  a  son,  the  former  a  warlike 
prince  who  constructs  it,  the  latter  a  peaceful 
one  who  adorns  it,  and  makes  it  the  admira- 
tion of  its  neighbors ;  and  the  collapse  is 
brought  about  by  a  division  between  the  two 
great  sections  of  the  ruling  (Medo-Persic) 
race,  and  a  war  between  them,  which,  how- 
ever, has  a  somewhat  different  result  from 
the  war  between  the  Ten  Tribes  and  the  Two. 
Short  periods  of  great  prosperity  are,  in  fact, 
of  ordinary  occurrence  among  the  States  of 
the  East,  where  so  much  more  depends  than 
in  the  West  on  the  personal  character  of 
individuals, -and  where  the  vigor  and  energy 
which  enable  a  chief  to  found  an  empire  are 
rarely  inherited  by  descendants  born  and  bred 
up  in  a  seraglio. 

And  if  the  analogy  of  Oriental  history 
generally  is  thus  favorable  to  the  main  Scrip- 
character  of     tural  fact  —  the  sudden   rise,  vast 

the  Empire  ^  ^  •in 

borne  out  by     spicudor,  and  rapid  collapse  of  the 

contemporary  .  £      .i  t  •        j_i 

history.  empire   01    the    Jews,  —  so  is   the 

analogy  of  the  Oriental  history  of  the  time 
favorable  to  the  character  of  the  empire,  as 
set  before  us  in  the  Sacred  Volume.  "  Solo- 
mon," we  are  told, ''  reigned  over  all  the  king- 


OF   THE   OLD   TESTAMENT.  107 

doms  from  the  river  (Euphrates)  unto  the 
land  of  the  Philistines  and  unto  the  borders 
of  Egypt"  (1  Kings  iv.  21)  ;  and  again, 
"  Solomon  had  dominion  over  all  the  region 
on  this  side  the  river,  from  Tiphsach  (Thap- 
sacus  on  the  Euphrates)  to  Azzah  (or  Gaza), 
over  all  the  kings  on  this  side  the  river ''  (lb. 
24) ;  "  they  brought  presents  "  (lb.  21)  ;  a 
"  rate  year  hyyear  "  (lb.  x.  25)  ;  and  "  served 
Solomon  all  the  days  of  his  life"  (lb.  iv.  21). 
Here  we  have  a  picture  of  a  kind  of  empire 
exactly  similar  to  those  which  profane  records 
—  and  more  especially  the  recently-discovered 
cuneiform  inscriptions  —  show  to  have  pre- 
vailed in  the  East  at  the  period  to  which  the 
empire  of  Solomon  is  assigned,  and  for  some 
(though  not  very  many)  centuries  afterwards. 
The  modern  system  of  centralized  organiza- 
tion, by  which  the  various  provinces  of  a  vast 
empire  are  cemented  into  a  compact  mass, 
was  unknown  to  the  ancient  world,  and  has 
never  been  practiced  by  Asiatics.  The  satrap- 
ial  system  of  government,  or  that  in  which  the 
provinces  maintain  their  individuahty,  but 
are  administered  on  a  common  plan  by  offi- 
cers appointed  by  the  crown  —  which  has 
prevailed  generally  throughout  the  East  since 
the  time  of  its  first  introduction,  —  was  the 
iny^ntiqn   of    IJarius    Hystaspis^    (ab.  B.  c. 

\  Herod,  iii.  89. 


108  HISTORICAL   ILLUSTRATIONS 

520).  Before  his  time  the  great  monarchies 
of  the  East  had  a  slighter  and  weaker  organi- 
zation. They  were  in  all  cases  composed  of  a 
number  of  separate  kingdoms^  each  under  its 
own  native  king;  and  the  sole  link  uniting 
them  together  and  constituting  them  an  em- 
pire was  the  subjection  of  these  petty  mon- 
archs  to  a  single  suzerain.  The  Babylonian, 
Assyrian,  Median,  and  Lydian  were  all  em- 
pires of  this  type,  —  monarchies  where  a  sover- 
eign prince  at  the  head  of  a  powerful  king- 
dom was  acknowledged  as  suzerain,  by  a 
number  of  inferior  princes,  each  in  his  own 
right  sole  ruler  of  his  own  country.  And  the 
subjecticm  of  the  inferior  princes  consisted 
chiefly,  if  not  solely,  in  two  points  :  they  were 
bound  to  render  homage  to  their  suzerain,  and 
to  pay  him  annually  a  certain  stated  trib- 
ute. Thus  in  Solomon's  empire,  as  depicted 
in  the  book  of  Kings,  we  recognize  at  once  a 
condition  of  things  with  which  we  are  familiar 
from  profane  sources  ;  and  we  see  that  at  any 
rate  the  account  given  of  it  is  in  entire  har- 
mony with  the  political  notions  and  practices 
of  the  day. 

The  fact  of  Solomon's  rule  over  the  Jews  at 
the  time  which  Scripture  assigns  to  him,  and 
Solomon's        the  friendly  relations  in  which  he 

reign  and  rela-  i      ^        rr\       - 

tions  with  Hi-  stood  toward  the  Tynan  monarch, 

ram  attested  *'  i        n^ 

by  Dius.         Hiram,  were  attested  b}^  the  lyrian 


OF   THE   OLD   TESTAMENT.  109 

historians,  on  whose  works  Dins  and  Menan- 
der  based  their  histories,  as  stated  in  a  former 
chapter.^  Dins,  as  reported  by  Josephus,^ 
said,  ''  On  the  death  of  Abibaal,  his  son  Hi- 
ram mounted  the  Tyrian  throne.  He  made 
a  mound  on  the  eastern  side  of  the  city,  and 
enlarged  the  citadel,  and  attached  to  the  city 
by  means  of  a  mole  the  temple  of  Jupiter 
(JBaal  ?),  which  stood  by  itself  on  an  island, 
and  adorned  the  temple  with  golden  offerings. 
Moreover,  he  cut  timber  in  Mount  Lebanon, 
to  be  used  in  the  construction  of  his  temples. 
And  it  is  said  that  Solomon,  who  then  reigned 
at  Jerusalem,  sent  riddles  to  Hiram,  and  re- 
quested that  riddles  should  be  sent  him  in 
return,  with  the  condition  that  the  receiver 
should  pay  a  sum  of  money  to  the  sender  if  he 
could  not  find  them  out.  The  challenge  was 
accepted  by  Hiram  ;  and,  as  he  could  not  dis- 
cover the  answers  to  Solomon's  riddles,  he  had 
to  pay  him  a  large  sum  as  a  forfeit.  After 
this,  a  Tyrian,  called  Abdemon,  found  out 
Solomon's  riddles,  and  sent  him  others  which 
Solomon  could  not  solve.  So  Solomon,  in  his 
turn,  forfeited  a  considerable  sum  to  Hiram." 
Menander's  testimony  ^  is  very  nearly  to  the 
same  effect ;  but  his  account  is  less  full,  and 

1  See  above,  ch.  iv.  p.  96.  2  Contr.  Apion.  i.  37. 

8  Ibid.  §  18. 


110  HISTORICAL   ILLUSTRATIONS 

therefore  does  not  need  to  be  quoted.  The 
date  of  Hiram  was  fixed  by  the  Tyrian  his- 
torians to  the  close  of  the  eleventh  century 
before  our  era,  since  his  accession  was  placed 
in  the  156th  year  before  the  foundation  of 
Carthage,  and  the  foundation  of  Carthage  was 
assigned  to  the  seventh  year  of  Pygmalion,  or 
B.  C.  864.  The  exchange  of  riddles  between 
Hiram  and  Solomon,  which  is  not  related  in 
Scripture,  illustrates  both  the  proceedings  of 
Samson  (Judg.  xiv.  12-19)  and  those  of  the 
Queen  of  Sheba,  when  she  sought  to  "  prove 
Solomon  by  hard  questions  "  (1  Kings  x.  1). 
The  Tyrian  histories  witnessed,  moreover, 
to  the  construction  of  the  Temple  by  Solo- 
other  points  mon,i  an  event  which  they  placed 
T^'^S^U'to?'  in  the  144th  year  before  the  foun- 
"^-  dation  of  Carthage,  or  B.  C.  1007. 

They  stated  that  several  letters  which  had 
passed  between  Hiram  and  Solomon  were 
preserved  in  the  Tyrian  archives  ;  ^  and  they 
further  related,  as  we  learn  from  Menander, 
that  Solomon  took  to  wife  one  of  Hiram's 
daughters.^  This  last  fact,  though  not  dis- 
tinctly mentioned  in  Scripture,  is  probably 
glanced  at  in  the  statement  (1  Kings  xi.  1), 

1  Contr.  Apion.  §  17. 

2  Joseph,  c.  Ap.  i.  §  17. 

•  8  Menaud.  ap.  Clem.  Alex.  Strom,  i.  p.  386. 


OF   THE   OLD   TESTAMENT.  Ill 

that  ''  King  Solomon  loved  many  strange 
women,  together  with  the  daughter  of  Pha- 
raoh, women  of  the  Moabites,  Ammonites, 
Edomites,  Zidonians^  and  Hittites." 

It  might  have  been  expected  that  the 
Egyptian  records  would  have  afforded  illus- 
trations of   the  reiffn   of  Solomon,   scanty  iuus- 

^    _  ,  •'!•/•  i  1  tration  of  his 

Solomon  s   principal  wiie  was  the  reign  from  the 

p  Vki  1  1  parallel  his- 

daughter  oi  a  Pharaoh,  and  a  tory  of  Egypt. 
portion  of  his  dominions  accrued  to  him 
through  this  marriage  (1  Kings  ix.  16).  One 
of  his  adversaries  was  married  to  another 
Eg}^ptian  princess,  the  sister  of  Tahpenes, 
wife  of  an  Egyptian  monarch  (lb.  xi.  19). 
Late  in  his  reign,  a  subject  whom  he  suspected 
took  refuge  in  Egypt,  and  was  favorably  re- 
ceived by  Shishak,  who  was  then  king  (lb. 
40).  But  the  Egyptian  records  of  the  period 
are  peculiarly  scanty.  The  monarchs  of  the 
twenty-first  dynasty  have  left  scarcely  any 
memorials.  All  that  appears  from  them  is 
that  Egypt  was  at  this  time  exceedingly  weak, 
that  she  had  no  foreign  wars,  and  that  Egyp- 
tian princesses  were  occasionally  married  to 
subjects  and  foreigners.^  The  names  of  Sol- 
omon, Hadad,  Jeroboam,  Tahpenes,  do  not 
occur.  The  name  of  Shishak  is,  however, 
found  under  the  form  of  Sheshonk  ;  his  date 

1  Lenormant,  Manuel  tV  Histoire  Ancienne,  torn.  i.  p.  452. 


112  HISTORICAL  ILLUSTRATIONS 

accords  with  that  of  Solomon;  and  he  ap- 
pears as  the  founder  of  a  new  dynasty,  and 
therefore  as  a  prince  who  might  naturally 
change  the  relations  previously  subsisting  be- 
tween Judasa  and  Egypt.  But,  on  the  whole, 
the  illustration  under  this  head  is  scanty  and 
disappointing. 

In  one  respect,  however,  the  history  of 
Egypt  and  the  parallel  history  of  Assyria  har- 
Date  assigned    moulzc  vcrv  remarkably  with  the 

to  Solomon's  "^  ^      ^ 

Empire  in  bar-  Hcbrew   accouuts,   rendering    that 

niony  with  t  •    i  . 

both  Egyptian  which    sccms   most    cxtraordinarv 

and  Assyrian  .  "^ 

history.  and     abnormal     m    them    readily 

*  comprehensible,  natural,  and  even  probable. 
When  we  glance  over  the  general  relations 
and  consider  the  natural  resources  of  the  three 
countries  —  Egypt,  Palestine,  Assyria,  —  it 
seems  at  first  sight  most  unlikely  that  the 
weak  intermediate  country  should  at  any  time 
have  been  able  to  assert  herself,  and  to  main- 
tain undisturbed  for  above  half  a  century  an 
empire  over  regions  generally  claimed  by  one 
or  other,  or  by  both,  of  the  great  powers 
between  which  she  lay.  Under  ordinary 
circumstances,  when  Egypt  and  Assyria,  or 
either  of  them,  were  in  their  vigor,  the  as- 
sumption of  such  a  position  by  Judaea  may  be 
pronounced  simply  impossible.  But  the  mon- 
uments of  both  countries  sliow  that,  exactly 


OF   THE    OLD   TESTAMENT.  113 

at  the  time  when  the  Je^vish  empire  is  placed 
by  the  sacred  writers,  there  was,  both  in 
Egypt  and  in  Assyria,  a  temporary  decay  and 
depression.  Assyria,  which  in  the  twelfth 
century  bore  rule  over  most  of  Northern  Syria, 
passes  under  a  cloud  towards  the  commence- 
ment of  the  eleventh,  and  continues  weak  and 
inglorious  till  nearly  the  close  of  the  tenth. ^ 
Egypt  declines  somewhat  earlier,  but  recovers 
sooner,  her  depression  commencing  about  B. 
C.  1200,  and  terminating  with  the  accession  of 
Sheshonk,  about  B.  c.  990.^  It  is  only  in  the 
interval  between  the  decline  of  Assyria,  B.  c. 
1100,  and  the  recovery  of  Egypt,  B.  c.  990, 
that  such  an  empire  as  that  ascribed  to  Solo- 
mon would  have  been  allowed  to  exist ;  and 
exactly  into  this  interval  the  Solomonian  em- 
pire falls  according  to  the  sacred  writers. 

Among  the  accessories  of  the  history  of 
Solomon  there  are  numerous  points  on  which 
profane  history  sheds  a  lio^ht  ;  but  Picture  of  the 

\  .    T   .  1   .    1  1  Ti       Phoenicians 

the   space  witmn  which   these  II-  confirmed  by 

,  .  •,  r>        1         'Ti     profane  au- 

lustrations   must    be    confined  will  thors. 
only  allow  of  special  attention  being  called  to 
two.    These  are  the  pictures  drawn  of  Phoeni- 
cian civilization  at  the  time,  and  the  charac- 
ter of  the  art  which  forms  so  remarkable  a 

1  Ancient  Monarchies,  vol.  ii.  pp.  332-336. 

2  Lenormant,  Manuel,  torn.  i.  pp.  449-452. 


114  HISTORICAL   ILLUSTRATIONS 

feature  of  Solomon's  reign.  Phoenician  civil- 
ization is  represented  as  consisting  especially 
in  the  possession  of  nautical  skill,  of  exten- 
sive commerce,  and  of  excellence  in  the  me- 
chanical and  ornamental  arts  and  employ- 
ments. None  "  can  skill  to  hew  timber  like 
unto  the  Sidonians  "  (1  Kings  v.  6).  They 
are  "  cunning  to  work  in  gold,  and  in  silver, 
in  brass,  and  in  iron,  and  in  purple,  and  in 
blue,  and  in  crimson "  (2  Chr.  ii.  7)  ;  they 
"can  skill  to  grave  gravings "  (lb.).  Hi- 
ram of  Tyre  casts  for  Solomon  all  his  vessels 
for  the  Temple  service,  and,  especially  the  two 
huge  pillars,  Jachin  and  Boaz,  which  stood  in 
front  of  the  porch,  and  the  great  laver  called 
"the  molten  sea"  (1  Kings  vii.  21-23). 
Skill  in  the  mechanical  processes  of  art  and 
in  ornamentation  is  what  we  find  ascribed  to 
them  ;  not  artistic  excellence  in  the  highest 
and  best  sense  of  the  words.  Closely  in  ac- 
cordance with  this  is  the  character  of  Phoenician 
civilization,  which  we  derive  from  the  Greeks. 
Their  early  nautical  skill  and  extensive  trade 
are  mentioned  by  Homer  and  Herodotus,  the 
former  of  whom  speaks  especially  of  their 
beautifully  embroidered  robes  and  their  bowls 
of    silver.^     Their    "  skill  to   hew   timber," 

1  Herod,  i.  1;  iv.  148.     Horn.  II  vi.  289;  xxiii.  743;  Od.  iv. 
614;  XV.  417,  etc. 


OF   THE   OLD   TF.STAMENT.  115 

eTen  at  this  remote  time,  was  attested  by  their 
own  historians,  as  also  was  their  practice  of 
making  large  metal  pillars.^  Such  remains  of 
their  art  as  have  come  down  to  us  are  of  the 
character  indicated.  They  consist  of  engraved 
gems  and  cylinders,  and  of  metal  bowls,  plain, 
or  embossed  with  figures.^  In  no  instance  do 
the  figures  show  any  real  artistic  excellence. 

[*  A  few  years  ago  certain  letters  or  mark- 
ings were  found  at  Jerusalem  on  the  bottom 
rows  of  the  wall  at  the  southeast  angle  of 
the  Haram,  at  the  depth  of  ninety  feet,  near 
where  Solomon's  Temple  must  have  stood. 
Mr.  E.  Deutsch,  of  the  British  Museum,  who 
saw  them  on  the  ground,  decides  that  they 
must  have  been  put  there  when  the  stones 
were  laid  in  situ^  and  that  they  are  Phoeni- 
cian.3  Similar  marks  are  found  on  primitive 
substructures  in  the  harbor  of  Sidon  at  the 
present  day.  It  has  been  suggested,  as  the 
most  probable  explanation  of  th^se  marks 
here,  that  they  were  put  there  by  Tyrian 
architects  whom  Hiram  or  Huram  *  sent  to 
assist  Solomon  in  the  erection  of  the  Temple, 

1  See  the  fragment  of  Dius  quoted  above,  p.  100,  and  com- 
pare Menand.  ap.  Joseph,  c.  Ap.  i.  18. 

2  Layard,  Nineveh  and  Babylon,  pp.  186,  60S. 

8  *  See  Quarterly  Statement  of  the  Pal.  Expl.  Fund,  No.  ii. 
(1869). —H. 

4  *  Different  forms  of  the  same  name.  Huram  occurs  espe- 
cially in  Chronicles,  and  is  aMasoretic  variation  of  Hiram.  — H, 


116  HISTORICAL   ILLUSTRATIONS 

as  we  learn  from  1  K.  v.  10,  18,  and  2  Chr.  ii. 
11  ff.  Yet  we  may  not  insist  on  this  coinci- 
dence, because  the  Hebrews  and  the  Tyrians 
at  that  period  may  have  used  the  same  written 
form  of  letters  or  figures,  and  hence  the  He- 
brew architects  may  have  placed  them  there.] 
The  art  of  Solomon's  reign  presents  nu- 
merous points  of  agreement  with  the  style  of 
Art  of  Solo-  ^rt  recently  discovered  to  have  pre- 
accord  iS  vailed  in  Mesopotamia  and  the  ad- 
by^he  lisfr-  j^cent  countrics  at  a  time  not  much 
ian  remains,  subscqucnt.  Thc  modcm  historian 
of  architecture  finds  in  the  ruins  of  Nineveh 
and  Palestine  the  best  means  of  illustrating 
and  explaining  the  edifices  with  which  Solo- 
mon adorned  Jerusalem. ^  The  "  House  of 
the  Forest  of  Lebanon "  ^  resembles  clearly 
the  "  Throne-room  "  of  an  Assyrian  or  Per- 
sian palace.  Its  proportions,  its  cedar  roofing, 
its  numerous  columns,  its  windows  and  doors 
squared  at  top,  are  all  in  keeping  with  Assyr- 
ian or  Persian  examples ;  with  which  accord 
also  the  separation  of  the  entire  palace  into 
several  distinct  groups  of  buildings,  the  in- 
clusion within  the  palace  of  large  courts,  the 

1  Fergusson,  History  of  Architecture^  voL  i.  Compare  Bib- 
lical Dictionary,  vol.  ii.  p.  659;  and  vol.  iii.  p.  228'{,  Amer.  ed. 

2  *  See  1  K.  vii.  2,  x.  17,  21;  2  Chr.  iv.  16,  20.  It  was  so 
called  from  being  largely  built  of  cedar  or  adorned  with  cedar 
pillars  from  Lebanon.  —  H. 


OF   THE    OLD   TESTAMENT.  117 

pa^'ing  of  the  courts  with  stone,  and  the  em- 
ployment of  slabs  of  stone  as  a  facing  to  the 
walls  of  the  palace  (1  Kings  vii.  9).  The 
overlaying  of  the  Temple  with  pure  gold  (lb. 
vi.  21,  22),  so  marvelous  to  moderns,  accords 
with  the  Babylonian,  the  Assyrian,  and  the 
Median  practice ;  the  ornamentation  of  the 
same  building,  and  its  furniture,  with  cheru- 
bims  (probably  winged  bulls),  palm-trees, 
and  open  flowers  (lb.  vi.  32),  and  again  with 
pomegranates  and  lions  (lb.  viii.  18,  29),  is 
thoroughly  Assyrian ;  the  height  of  the  pil- 
lars Jachin  and  Boaz,  and  the  size  and  com- 
plicated character  of  their  capitals,  have  par- 
allels at  Persepolis  ;  the  lions  that  guard  the 
steps  of  Solomon's  throne  (lb.  x.  20),  recall 
the  lion  figures  at  the  Assyrian  palace  gates  ; 
the  "  throne  of  ivory  "  (lb.  18),  accords  with 
the  fragments  of  ivory  furniture  found  at  Nin- 
eveh.^  In  these  and  numerous  other  respects, 
the  art  ascribed  to  Solomon  by  the  sacred 
writers  receives  illustration  from  remains,  most 
of  which  were  buried  at  the  period  when  they 
compiled  their  histories,  and  have  been  for  the 
first  time  uncovered  in  our  day. 

Of  the  divided  kingdom  which  followed 
upon  the  death  of  Solomon,  the  Assyrian 
records  furnish  numerous,  and  the  Egyptian  a 

1  Layard,  Nineveh  and  Babylon,  pp.  194-196. 


118  HISTORICAL  ILLUSTRATIONS 

few  illustrations.  The  most  important  Egyp- 
shishak's  ex-  ^^^^  notice  is  Contained  in  an  inscrip- 
SiTjudah  tion  erected  by  Shishak  (Sheshonk) 
onfonSfa-  at  Karnak,  which  has  been  most 
Bcriptions.  carefully  studied  by  modern  schol- 
ars, and  may  be  regarded  as  having  completely 
yielded  up  its  contents.  This  document  is  a  list 
of  the  countries,  cities,  and  tribes,  conquered 
in  his  great  expedition  by  Shishak,  and  re- 
garded by  him  as  his  tributaries.  It  contains, 
not  only  a  distinct  mention  of  "  Judah,"  as  a 
"  kingdom  "  which  Shishak  had  subjugated,^ 
but  also  a  long  list  of  Palestinian  towns,  from 
which  an  important  light  is  thrown  on  the 
character  of  the  expedition  commemorated, 
and  the  relations  subsisting  between  Judah 
and  Israel  in  the  early  part  of  Solomon's 
reign.  Among  the  cities  mentioned  are  not 
only,  as  might  have  been  expected,  a  certain 
number  of  the  cities  of  Judah,  but  several  in 
the  territory  of  the  Ten  Tribes,  which  one 
would  have  supposed  subject  to  Jeroboam, 
Shishak's  protege  and  ally,  and  therefore  un- 
likely to  have  been  treated  hostilely  by  the 
Egyptians.  Examination,  however,  of  these 
cities  shows  that  they  fall  into  the  two  classes 
of  Levitical  towns,  and  towns  originally  Ca- 

1  Wilkinson   in  Rawlinson's   Herodotus,  vol.  ii.  p.  316,  '2d 
ed. ;  Stuart  Poole  in  Biblical  Dictionary,  ad  voc.  Shishak. 


OF  THE   OLD  TESTAMENT.  119 

naanite  ;  and  the  explanation  of  tlieir  appear- 
ance in  the  list  seems  to  be,  that  Jeroboam 
was  not  at  first  firmly  established  in  the  whole 
of  his  kingdom,  but  that  the  Levites  held  to 
Eehoboam  (see  2  Chr.  xi.  13),  while  the 
remnant  of  the  Canaanites  probably  re- 
asserted their  independence.  Shishak  there- 
fore directed  his  arms  against  these  two 
classes  of  cities,  handing  them  over,  probably, 
when  he  had  taken  them,  to  Jeroboam,  who 
thereby  became  master  of  the  whole  territory 
of  the  Ten  Tribes,  which  he  held,  probably, 
as  a  fief  under  the  Egyptian  crown. 

Shishak's  invasion  of  Palestine  was  followed 
within  about  thirty  years  (^according  to  the 
book    of    Chronicles)    by    another  zerah'sexpe- 

•"  dition  against 

great  attack  irom  the  same  quar-  Asa. 
ter.  Zerah,  the  Ethiopian,  at  the  head  of  a 
vast  army,  composed  of  Ethiopians  and  Lib- 
yans, invaded  Judaea  in  the  reign  of  Asa,  the 
grandson  of  Rehoboam,  but  was  completely 
defeated  by  him,  and  forced  to  an  ignomin- 
ious flight.  It  was  not  likely  that  we  should 
obtain  any  direct  confirmation  of  this  expedi- 
tion from  the  other  side,  since  Oriental  mon- 
archs  do  not  generally  record  their  disasters  ;  ^ 

1  *  It  is  said  that  no  record  of  the  death  of  a  king  has  yet 
been  found  on  the  Assyrian  monuments.  Certainly  this  sing- 
ular reserve  exceeds  very  much  that  of  the  French  mortuaiy 
valediction  and  salutation:  Le  roi  est  mort :  vive  le  roi !  —  IT. 


120  HISTORICAL  ILLUSTRATIONS 

but  hieroglyphical  scholars  are  able  to  point 
out  two  monarchs,  reigning  about  this  time 
in  the  valley  of  the  Nile,  having  names  that 
accords  sufficiently  with  the  Hebrew  Zerah, 
one  or  other  of  whom  would  seem  to  have  been 
the  leader  of  the  invasion.  The  Egyptian 
throne  was  occupied  from  about  B.  c.  956  to 
983  by  an  Osorchon^  who  may  have  been  by 
birth  an  Ethiopian  ;  ^  and  the  throne  of  Ethio- 
pia was  filled  about  the  same  time  by  a  king 
named  Azerch-Axa^iV^  whose  monuments  are 
found  at  Napata.^  The  Hebrew  practice  of 
abbreviating  foreign  names  (seen  in  So,  Shal- 
man,  etc.)  may  have  caused  either  of  these 
names  to  be  expressed  by  Zerah. 

During  the  reign  of  Asa  over  Judali,  the 
sister  kingdom  was  the  scene  of  great  dis- 
Greatness  of     ordcrs.     Rcvolution   followed    rev- 

Omri  con-  ^       .  _^  ^  . 

finned  by  the  olutiou.  1*  our  dynastics  rapidly 
scriptions.  succccdcd  each  other.  Two  kings 
were  assassinated ;  one  burnt  himself  in  his 
palace.  At  length  a  certain  Omri  attained  to 
power,  and  succeeded  in  introducing  greater 
stability  into  the  Israelite  state.  Removing 
the  capital  to  a  new  site,  Samaria,  and  estab- 
lishing  a   new  system  of   laws,  which   were 

1  The  second  Osorchon  married  the  sister  of  the  preceding 
king,  and  ruled  in  right  of  his  wife. 

2  Lenormant,  Manuel,  torn,  i-  pp.  253,  453. 


OF    THE    OLD   TESTAMENT.  121 

thenceforth  observed  (Mic.  vi.  16),  he  so 
firmly  fixed  his  dynasty  upon  the  throne, 
that  it  continued  during  three  generations  and 
four  reigns  before  it  was  succeeded  by  an- 
other. A  monarch  of  this  capacity  might  be 
expected  to  get  himself  a  name  among  his 
neighbors  ;  and  accordingly  we  find  in  the  As- 
syrian inscriptions  of  the  time  that  his  name 
is  the  Israelite  name  with  which  they  are  most 
familiar.^  Samaria  is  known  to  the  Assyrians 
for  some  centuries  merely  as Beth-Omri,  "the 
house  "  or  "  city  of  Omri ;  "  and  even  when 
they  come  into  contact  with  Israelite  mon- 
archs  of  the  house  which  succeeded  Omri's 
upon  the  throne,  they  still  regard  them  as 
descendants  of  the  great  chief  whom  they 
view  perhaps  as  the  founder  of  the  kingdom  .^ 
Thus  the  Assyrian  records  agree  generally 
with  the  Hebrew  in   the   importance    which 

1  *  The  most  skeptical  writers  recognize  the  significance  of 
this  agreement  of  Assyrian  and  Jewish  history.  See  De  Wette- 
Schrader's  Einleit.  is  das  A.  und  N.  Test.  p.  320  (1869).  In  some 
minor  details  the  Assyrian  readings  may  be  still  uncertain;  but 
of  the  great  bulk  of  them,  there  is  no  more  doubt  than  of  the 
renderings  of  one  spoken  language  into  another.  On  this  sub- 
ject, see  *'  Ninive,"  by  F.  Spiegel  in  Herzog's  Real-Encyh.  vol. 
X.  pp.  361-381  (1858),  and  especially,  under  the  same  title,  vol. 
XX.  pp.  219-235  (1866).  See  also  Testimony  of  Assyrian  In- 
scriptiims  to  the  Truth  of  Scripture,  by  Rev.  T.  Laurie,  formerly 
missionary  at  Mosul  {Bibl.  Sacra,  xiv.  pp.  147-165).  — H. 

2  See  the  Blach  Obelisk  Inscription,  where  Jehu  is  called 
"the  son  of  Omri." 


122  HISTORICAL   ILLUSTRATIONS 

they  assign  to  this  monarch ;  and  specially 
confirm  the  fact  (related  in  1  Kings  xvi.  24), 
that  he  was  the  founder  of  the  later  IsraeHte 
metropolis,  Samaria.^ 

Omri's  name  appears  also  on  another  very 
recently  discovered  monument.  The  steld  of 
omri  men-       Mcslia,  kinsj  of    Moab,  erected  at 

tioned  on  the  .        ^  -a  r      ^  > 

Moabite  stone.  DiDon  m  the  MoaDite  country 
about  B.  c.  900,  twenty  or  thirty  years  after 
Omri's  death,  records  that  he  reduced  the 
Moabites  to  subjection,  and  began  an  oppres- 
sion under  which  they  groaned,  till  Mesha 
reestablished  their  independence.^  This  no- 
tice agrees  well  with  the  Hebrew  date  for 
Omri,  and  with  the  mention  that  is  made  of 
his  "  might "  in  1  Kings  xvi.  27. 

Omri's  son  and  successor,  Ahab,  is  men- 
tioned by  name  in  an  Assyrian  contemporary 
Ahab  men-       inscription,  which,  affreeably  to  the 

tioned  on  the  ^         .  .  .  "^ 

Black  Obelisk,  accouut  givcu  iu  the  First  Book  of 
Kings  with  respect  to  the  place  of  his  ordi- 
nary residence  (1  Kings  xviii.  46  ;  xxi.  1,  2), 
calls  him  "  Ahab  of  Jezreel^  ^     The  inscrip- 

1  *  In  accordance  with  this  concurrent  biblical  and  monu- 
mental testimony,  Dean  Stanley  treats  of  the  reign  of  "the 
house  of  Omri  "  as  one  of  the  great  epochs  of  Jewish  history 
{Lectures  on  the  Jewish  Church,  vol.  ii.  pp.  313-376).  —  H. 

2  See  Dr.  Ginsburg's  Moabite  Stone,  pp.  31-33 ;  [and  Appen- 
dix No.  2,  in  this  edition  of  the  work.] 

8  M.  Oppert  reads  "Ahab  of  Israel"  {Histoire  des  Empires 
de  Chaldee  et  d^Assyrie^  p.  140);  but  Sir  H.  Rawlinson  regards 


OF   THE   OLD   TESTAMENT.  123 

tion  tells  us  that  Aliab  on  a  certain  occasion 
joined  in  a  league  of  kings  against  the  Assyr- 
ians, and  furnished  to  the  confederate  army, 
that  was  brought  into  the  field,  a  force  of 
10,000  footmen  and  2,000  chariots.  The  al- 
lies suffered  defeat,  and  Ahab  appears  thence- 
forth to  have  abstained  from  offering  any  op- 
position to  Assyria.  Among  the  confederate 
monarchs  with  whom  he  leagued  himself  was 
the  Damascene  king,  Benhadad,  whom  Scrip- 
ture also  makes  Ahab's  contemporary. 

The  relations  here  exhibited  as  subsisting 
between  Ahab  and  Benhadad  may  appear  at 
first  sight  difficult  to  reconcile  with  those  de- 
scribed in  Kings,  where  Benhadad  is  Ahab's 
chief  foreign  enemy  (1  Kings  xx.  and  xxii.). 
But  if  we  carefully  examine  the  sacred  text, 
we  shall  see  that  there  is  express  mention  of 
an  interval  of  peace  as  having  occurred  be- 
tween the  two  great  Syrian  wars  of  Ahab  — 
an  interval  estimated  at  three  years  (1  Kings 
xxii.  1), —  duruig  which  period  the  two  mon- 
archs were  friends.  The  alliance  with  Ben- 
hadad against  the  Assyrians  may  well  have 
fallen  into  this  space.^  Indeed,  it  throws 
light  both  on  the  readiness  of  Ahab  to  grant 

the  Assyrian  word  as  corresponding  more  closely  to  the  Hebrew 
"  Jezreel." 

1  The  Assyrian  chronology  requires  as  the  date  of  the  alli- 
ance a  late  year  in  the  reign  of  Ahab. 


124  HISTORICAL   ILLUSTRATIONS 

the  Syrian  monarch  favorable  terms  when  he 
had  him  in  his  power  (1  Kings  xx.  34),  and 
on  his  exasperation  at  the  terms  granted  not 
being  observed  (lb.  xxii.  3),  if  we  suppose 
that  Ahab  made  his  covenant  with  Benhadad 
in  contemplation  of  an  impending  Assyrian 
invasion  ;  that  when  the  invasion  came,  he 
helped  Benhadad  to  resist  it ;  and  that  then 
Benhadad^  setting  at  nought  the  obligations 
both  of  honor  and  gratitude,  refused  to  fulfil 
the  engagement  by  means  of  which  he  had 
obtained  his  hberty. 

The  Moabite  stone  also  speaks  of  Ahab, 
though  not  by  name.  "  Omri,"  it  tells  us, 
His  oppression  "King  of  Isracl,  oppressed  Moab 
corderon'the  ^lany  days,  for  Chemosh  was  angiy 
Moabite  stone,  ^^-^j^  ^ik  land.  Ris  SOU  succeeded 
him,  and  he  also  said,  I  will  oppress  Moab."  ^ 
This  passage  agrees  well  with  the  statements 
of  the  Second  Book  of  Kings  (i.  1,  and  iii.  4, 
6),  that  the  Moabites  were  subject  to  Ahab 
throughout  his  reign,  and  paid  him  annually 
the  enormous  tribute  of  "  an  hundred  thou- 
sand-lambs, and  an  hundred  thousand  rams 
with  the  wool."  Such  a  tribute  (even  if 
the  wool  alone,  and  not  the  animals,  is  in- 
tended) would   undoubtedly  have  been   felt 

1  See  Dr.  Ginsburg's  Essay  on  the  Moabite  Stone,  p.  13. 
[See  also  Appendix  No.  2,  at  the  end  of  this  volume.] 


OF   THE   OLD   TESTAMENT.  125 

by  the  people  who  paid  it  as  extremely  op- 
pressive.^ 

The  ancient  Tyrian  histories  may  also  be 
quoted  as  illustrative  of  the  reign  of  Ahab, 
Some  facts  of    thouffh  thev  do  not  expressly  men- 

his  reijrn  illus-      •.         °    .  rr^,  ,  c     t^  • 

tratedbythe  tion  him.  ilie  author  oi  Kings 
ries.  (1    Kings   xvi.    31)    relates    that 

Ahab  "  took  to  wife  Jezebel,  the  daughter 
of  Eth-baal,  king  of  the  Zidonians."  This 
"  Eth-baal  "  appeared  as  "  Eithobalus  "  in 
Dius  and  Menander,  who  made  him  the  sixth 
king  of  Tyre  after  Hiram,  reckoning  the  in- 
terval between  the  two  at  fifty  years,  and  giv- 
ing Eithobalus  a  reign  of  thirty-two  years,^ 
whereby  he  would  be  exactly  contemporary 
with  Ahab.  Moreover,  the  Tyrian  histories 
related  that  Eithobalus  was  high-priest  of 
Astarte   (or  Ashtoreth),  which  accounts  in  a 

1  *  Some  think  the  tribute  was  not  an  annual  one,  but  ex- 
acted only  once.  It  is  not  necessary  to  adopt  that  view.  **  The 
extraordinary  number  of  ruins  scattered  over  the  country,"  says 
Mr.  Grove,  ''are  a  sure  token  of  its  wealth  in  former  ages." 
(Blbl.  Diet.  vol.  iii.  p.  1987,  Amer.  ed.)  Recent  travellers  con- 
firm this  testimony.  *'  Everything  in  Moab  speaks  of  its  former 
wealth  and  cultivation.  Even  yet,  though  the  soil  is  badly 
tended  by  the  few  Arab  tribes  that  inhabit  it,  large  tracts  of 
pasture  land  and  extensive  corn-fields  meet  the  eye  at  every 
turn.  Ruined  cottages  and  towers,  broken  walls  that  inclosed 
gardens  and  vineyards,  remains  of  ancient  roads,  meet  the 
traveller  at  every  step."  See  Our  Wurk  in  Palestine^  ip.  322. 
Our  American  explorers  now  in  that  region  may  be  expected  tc 
settle  many  similar  questions  relating  to  the  Bible.  — H. 

2  See  Joseph,  contr.  Ap.  i.  18. 


126  HISTORICAL   ILLUSTRATIONS 

measure  for  the  religious  fanaticism  of  his 
daughter.  They  further  stated  that  during 
the  reign  of  this  monarch,  there  was  a  severe 
drought  in  Phoenicia,^  which  may  not  unrea- 
sonably be  connected  with  the  three  years' 
want  of  rain,  mentioned  in  Kings  (1  Kings 
xvii.  1 ;  xviii.  1). 

The  rebellion  of  Moab,  which  is  the  first 
fact  assigned  by  the  writer  of  Kings  to  the 
The  revolt  of  Tcign  of  Ahaziah,  Ahab's  elder  son 
Aha'ilMhe  and  successor  (2  Kings  i.  1),  has 
TtSeMolbil  recently  had  much  hght  thrown 
stone.  upon   it   by   the    discovery  of   the 

monument  (already  referred  to)  erected  to 
commemorate  the  occurrence.^  The  "  Mesha, 
king  of  Moab,"  who  threw  off  the  Israelite 
yoke  (2  Kings  iii.  4,  5),  inscribed  upon  a  pil- 
lar, which  he  set  up  in  his  own  land,  the  series 
of  events  whereby  he  had  restored  his  country 
to  independence ;  and  the  inscription  upon 
this  pillar  has  recently,  by  the  combined 
labor  of  various  Semitic  scholars,  been  recov- 
ered, deciphered,  and  translated  into  the  lan- 
guages of  modern  Europe.^  It  appears  from 
this  document,  as  already  noticed,  that  a  griev- 

1  Menand.  ap.  Joseph.  Ant.  Jud.  viii.  13. 

2  See  Appendix  No.  2. 

8  See  the  various  translations  collected  by  Dr.  Ginsburg  at 
the  close  of  his  Essay  (pp.  42, 43) ;  [and  see  also  Appendix  No.  2, 
in  this  volume.] 


OF   THE   OLD   TESTAMENT.  127 

ous  oppression  of  the  Moabites  was  begun  by 
Omri  and  continued  by  his  son  Ahab  ;  who 
together  oppressed  the  nation  for  a  space 
which  Mesha  reckons  roughly  at  forty  years. 
After  this,  probably  in  the  first  year  of  Aha- 
ziah,  the  Moabites  rebelled.  Mesha  attacked 
and  took  the  various  towns  which  were  occu- 
pied by  Israelite  garrisons  throughout  the 
country,  and  after  a  sharp  struggle  made  him- 
self master  of  the  whole  territory.  He  then 
rebuilt  such  of  the  Moabite  cities  as  had  fallen 
into  decay  during  the  period  of  the  oppres- 
sion, strengthening  their  fortifications,  and 
otherwise  restoring  and  beautifying  them. 

Of   the  reign  of   Jehoram,  Ahaziah's  suc- 
cessor, we  have  no  profane  illustration  ;  but 
the  Assyrian  monument  known  as  j^^ntjonof 
"the  Black    Obelisk,"    contains  a   na^w^iand 

'  Jehu  on  the 

notice  of  the  next  Israelite  mon-  BiackObeiisk 
arch,  Jehu,  and  another  of  the  Syrian  king 
who  succeeded  Benhadad,  Hazael.  Hazael 
appears  as  the  chief  antagonist  of  the  Assyr- 
ian invaders  of  Syria,  in  immediate  succes- 
sion to  Benhadad  ;  ^  and  Jehu,  who  is  called 
"  the  son  of  Omri,"  is  declared  to  have  sent 
ambassadors  to  the  Assyrian  capital  with 
presents  or  tribute.^     The  facts  here  recorded 

1  Ancient  Monarchies,  vol.  ii.  p.  364. 

2  Ibid.  p.  365.    Jehu's  ambassadors  are  represented,  bringing 
the  tribute,  on  the  Black  Obelisk.  • 

*  Instead  of  "Jehu's  ambassadors"  in  this  note  we  should 


128  HISTORICAL   ILLUSTRATIONS 

are  not  mentioned  in  Scripture  ;  and  the  "  il 
lustration  "  consists  simply  in  the  mention  at 
an  appropriate  time,  under  appropriate  circum- 
stances, and  in  proper  sequence,  of  persons 
who  play  an  important  part  in  the  Sacred 
History. 

A  more  interesting  point  of  agreement  than 
the  bare  mention  in  the  same  chronological 
Agreement  of    order  of  tlic  Same  historic  names',  is 

the  Assyrian  ' 

monunient8      to  bc  fouud  lu  the  accord  between 

with  Scripture 

ditfon  of  Tria  ^^^  general  picture  of  Syria  at  this 
B.  0. 900-800. '  time,  as  presented  to  us  in  our  Sa- 
cred Books,  and  the  representation  of  it  given 
by  the  Assyrian  records.  In  both  we  find  the 
country  between  the  middle  Euphrates  and 
Egypt  parceled  out  among  a  large  number 
of  tribes  or  nations,  of  whom  the  most  pow- 
erful are,  in  the  north,  the  Hittites,  the  Ha- 
mathites,  the  Phoenicians,  and  the  Syrians  of 
Damascus ;  in  the  south,  the  Philistines  and 
the  Idumaeans.  In  both  there  is  a  similar  por- 
trait of  Syria  of  Damascus  as  a  considerable 
state,  the  strongest  in  these  parts,  ruled  from 
a  single  centre  by  a  single  monarch.  The 
same  general  character,  and  the  same  second- 
ary position,  is  in  both  assigned  to  Hamath, 

substitute  "Ahab's  ambassadors"  according  to  Prof.  Rawliu- 
son's  corrections  in  his  Ancient  Monarcliies,  vol.  iv.  p.  576. 
This  makes  a  change  of  a  few  years  only  in  the  time  of  the 
first  contact  between  the  Assyrians  and  the  Israelites,  but  does 
not  affect  at  all  the  value  of  the  Biblical  corroboration.  —  H. 


OF  THE   OLD   TESTAMENT.  129 

whicli,  like  Damascus,  lias  its  single  king  (2 
Kings  xix.  13  ;  1  Chr.  xviii.  9),  but  is  evi- 
dently a  kingdom  of  less  strength.  In  con- 
trast with  these  two  centralized  monarchies 
stand  the  nations  of  the  Hittites  and  the 
Phcenicians,  each  of  which  has  several  inde- 
pendent kings  or  chiefs,  the  number  in  the 
case  of  the  Hittites  being,  apparently,  very 
great  (1  Kings  x.  29;  comp.  xx.  1).  The 
military  strength  of  the  northern  nations  con- 
sists especially,  according  to  both  authorities, 
in  their  chariots,  besides  which  they  have  a 
numerous  infantry,  but  few  or  no  horsemen. 
Both  authorities  show  that,  in  this  divided 
state  of  Syria,  the  kings  of  the  various  coun- 
tries were  in  the  habit  of  forming  leagues, 
uniting  their  forces,  and  making  conjoint  ex- 
peditions against  foreign  countries.  Lastly, 
in  both  pictures  we  see  in  the  background 
the  two  great  powers  of  Egypt  and  Assyria, 
not  yet  in  conflict  with  one  another,  not  yet 
able,  either  of  them,  to  grasp  the  dominion 
of  Syria,  or  crush  the  spirit  of  its  brave  and 
freedom-loving  peoples,  but  both  feeling  their 
way  towards  a  conquest,  and  tending  to  come 
into  a  collision  which  will  establish  the  com- 
plete preponderance  of  the  one  or  the  other 
in  the  region  lying  between  the  Nile  and  the 
Euphrates. 


130  HISTORICAL  ILLUSTRATIONS 

From  early  in  the  reign  of  Jehu  over  Israel, 
till  late  in  that  of  Azariah  (or  Uzziah)^  over 
Judah,  —  a  period  of  about  a  hundred  years, 
Depression  of    —  the  Assvrian  annals   are   silent 

Assyria  B.  c.  .  "^ 

BOu-750  ac-      with  respect  to  the  events  and  per- 

cords  with  m-  ^   ^  ^  ^  ^ 

crease  of  Jew-  gons  mentioned  in  Scripture.      The 

ish  power  at  \ 

that  time.  mouarchs  who  warred  in  Southern 
Syria  and  Palestine  have  left  no  detailed 
account  of  their  campaigns,  or  at  any  rate 
none  has  been  discovered  hitherto;  and  we 
consequently  know  nothing  beyond  the  broad 
facts,  that  in  the  earlier  part  of  the  period  As- 
syria still  claimed  dominion  over  Syria  of  Da- 
mascus, Phoenicia,  and  Samaria,^  while  in  the 
later  she  fell  into  a  depressed  condition,  suffered 
from  revolts  within  her  own  proper  terri- 
tory,^ and  left  the  Syrians  to  follow  their  own 
devices.  This  temporary  weakness  of  the 
great  Asiatic  kingdom  in  the  earlier  half  of 
the  eighth  century  B.  c,  is  in  harmony  with 
the  statements  of  Scripture,  that  about  this 
time  both  Israel  and  Judah  were  able  to  as- 
sume an  aggressive  attitude,  and  to  enlarge 
their  borders  at  the  expense  of  their  neigh- 
bors.    Uzziah  in  Judah,  Jeroboam  the  second, 

1  *  Probably  forms  of  the  same  name,  though  regarded  by 
some  as  different.  See  Winer's  Bibl.  Woiterbuch,  vol.  ii.  p.  648. 
—  H. 

2  Ancient  Monarchies,  vol.  ii.  pp.  378,  379. 

3  Seven  years  of  revolt  are  m€?ntioned  in  the  Assyrian  canon 
between  b.  c.  763  and  746. 


OF   THE   OLD   TESTAMENT.  131 

and  Menahem  in  Israel,  extended  their  author- 
ity over  the  border  nations,  Uzziah  reducing 
Philistia  and  Amnion  (2  Chr.  xxiv.  6-8), 
Jeroboam  conquering  Hamath  and  Damascus 
(2  Kings  xiv.  28),  and  Menahem  making 
himself  master  of  the  entire  tract  between 
Samaria  and  the  Euphrates  at  Thapsacus  (lb. 
XV.  16).  It  was  only  when  the  power  that 
claimed  to  be  mistress  of  Western  Asia  was 
exceptionally  weak  that  such  third-rate  states 
as  Judaea  and  Samaria  could  presume  to  at- 
tempt extensive  conquests. 

It  is  into  the  period  which  we  are  here  con- 
sidering that  an  event  falls  which  constitutes 
almost  the  only  important  historical  ^he  Assyrian 
difficulty  that  now  meets  the  in-  ^X?^,;^^?* 
quirer  into  the  harmony  between  the  ***  ^"'• 
sacred  and  the  profane,  the  only  dark  place  in 
the  narrative  which  recent  discoveries  might 
have  been  expected  to  illumine,  yet  which  they 
have  not  illumined,  but  have  left  in  all  its 
previous  obscurity.  This  event  is  the  inva- 
sion of  Samaria,  about  B.  c.  760-750,  by  a 
monarch  who  is  called  "  Pul,  king  of  Assyria  " 
(1  Kings  XV.  19  ;  1  Chr.  v.  26)  ;  who  came  up 
against  Is^^el  in  the  reign  of  Menahem,  and 
forced  that  prince  to  acknowledge  his  suzer- 
ainty, and  to  pay  him  a  tribute  of  a  thousand 
talents.     Of  this  ful  the  Assyrian  records  tell 


132  HISTORICAL  ILLUSTRATIONS 

US  nothing.  On  the  contrary,  they  in  a  cer 
tain  sense  exclude  him,  since  in  the  lists  of 
Assyrian  monarchs  who  reigned  about  this 
period,  —  lists  which  profess  to  be,  and  ap- 
parently are,  complete,  —  there  is  no  mention 
of  Pul,  and  no  indication  of  any  place  at  which 
his  reign  can  be  inserted.  It  seems  certain 
that  the  later  monarchs  of  Assyria,  Sargon, 
Sennacherib,  Esar-haddon,  Asshur-bani-pal, 
did  not  acknowledge  any  monarch  of  the  name 
of  Pul  among  their  predecessors  on  the  As- 
syrian throne.  1  They  filled  that  throne,  at  the 
date  assigned  to  Pul  in  Scripture,  with  a  prince 
whose  name  is  completely  different,^  and  they 
moreover  made  this  prince  a  faineant^  who 
scarcely  ever  led  out  his  army  beyond  the  fron- 
tier, and  eschewed  all  distant  expeditions.     . 

In  this  silence  of  the  Assyrian  annals  with 
respect  to  Pul,  we  turn  to  the  ancient  historian 
Pul  mentioned  ^^  Mcsopotauiia,  Bcrosus,  and  we 
ffis  ^probable)  ^^d  that  we  have  not  turned  to  him 
real  position.  '^^  vain.  Bcrosus  mentioned  Pul, 
and  placed  him  exactly  at  this  period  ;  but  he 
called  him  a  "  Chaldaean,"  and  not  an  "  Assyr- 
ian "  monarch.^     If  this  were  the  case,  if  Pul 

1  The  numerous  copies  of  the  Assyrian  Canon  all  agree  in  the 
order  of  the  kings.     None  of  them  show  any  signs  of  a  gap. 

2  The  name  is  commonly'read  as  "  Asshui-lush,"  or  "Asshur- 
likkis." 

8  Ap.  Euseb.  Chron.  Can.  i.  4. 


OF   THE    OLD   TESTAMENT.  133 

reigned  at  Babylon  and  not  at  Nineveh,  the 
Assyrian  records  might  naturally  enough  be 
silent  about  him.  But  why,  it  may  be  asked, 
did  the  sacred  writers  not  term  him  '•'•  King 
of  Babylon,"  if  this  was  his  real  position.  It 
would  perhaps  be  enough  to  answer  that  the 
Great  Power  of  Western  Asia,  at  any  time 
after  the  rise  of  tlie  Assyrian  Empire,  was 
reckoned  by  the  Jews  to  have  inherited  that 
empire,  and  was  therefore  called  '^  King  of 
Assyria,"  as  Nabopolassar  is  in  2  Kiugs  xxiii. 
29,  and  Darius  Hystaspis  in  Ezra  vi.  22. 
But  there  was  perhaps  a  further  reason  for  the 
title  being  used  of  Pul  at  this  time.  The 
Assyrian  annals  show,  from  about  B.  c.  763,  a 
disintegration  of  the  Assyrian  dominion  —  a 
breaking  off  of  the  provinces  from  the  rule  of 
Nineveh,  and  a  weakness  on  the  part  of  the 
Ninevite  monarchs,  which  may  well  have  al- 
lowed of  the  western  provinces  passing  under 
the  authority  of  an  ambitious  Babylonian 
prince,  who,  being  master  of  the  portion  of 
Assyria  nearest  to  them,  would  necessarily 
appear  to  the  Jews  to  be  "  King  of  Assyria." 
This  probably  was  the  position  of  Pal.  He 
was  a  "  Chaldaean,"  who,  in  the  troublous 
times  that  fell  upon  Assyria,  about  B.  c.  763- 
760,  obtained  the  dominion  over  Western 
Mesopotamia,  and  who,  invading  Syria  from 


1S4  HISTORICAL  ILLUSTRATIONS 

the  quarter  whence  the  Assyrian  armies  were 
wont  to  come,  and  being  at  the  head  of  As- 
syrian troops,  appeared  to  the  Jews  as  much 
an  Assyrian  monarch  as  the  princes  that  held 
their  court  at  Nineveh. 

With  the  reign  of  Tiglath-pileser  in  Assyria, 
and  those  of  Azariah  and  Ahaz  in  Judah,  and 
The  Assyrian  of  Mcnahem  and  Pekah  in  Israel, 
d^ntiy^thl"-  points  of  contact  between  the  As- 
p^^^er?^'*'^"  Syrian  and  the  Hebrew  records  be- 
Sl^^Tudl^h,  come  abundant.  Tiglath-pileser 
and  Syria.  felatcs  that,  about  his  fifth  year 
(b.  C.  741),  being  engaged  in  wars  in  Southern 
Syria,  he  met  and  defeated  a  vast  army  under 
the  command  of  Azariah,  king  of  Judah, 
the  great  monarch  whose  host  is  reckoned  w 
Chronicles  at  307,500  men,  and  whose  mil- 
itary measures  are  described  at  considerable 
length  (2  Chr.  xxvi.  6-15).  Again,  he  re- 
lates that  from  his  twelfth  to  his  fourteenth 
year  (b.  c.  734-732)  he  carried  on  a  war  in 
the  same  regions  with  the  two  kings,  Pekah 
of  Samaria,  and  Rezin  of  Damascus,  who  were 
confederate  together,  and  that  he  besieged 
Rezin  in  his  capital  for  two  years,  at  the  end 
of  which  time  he  captured  him  and  put  him 
to  death,  while  he  punished  Pekah,  by  mulct- 
ing him  of  a  large  portion  of  his  dominions, 
and  carrying  off  vast  numbers  of  his  subjects 


OF   THE  OLD   TESTAMENT.  135 

into  captivity.^  It  is  scarcely  necessary  to 
point  out  how  completely  this  account  har- 
monizes with  the  Scriptural  narrative,  accord- 
ing to  which  Pekah  and  Rezin,  having  formed 
an  alliance  against  Ahaz,  and  having  attacked 
him,  Ahaz  called  in  the  aid  of  Tiglath-pileser, 
king  of  Assyria,  who  "  hearkened  to  him,  and 
....  went  up  against  Damascus,  and  took  it, 
and  carried  the  people  captive  to  Kir,  and  slew 
Rezin  "  (2  Kings  xvi.  9)  ;  and  who  likewise 
punished  Pekah  by  invading  his  territory  and 
carrying  away  the  Heubenites,  the  Gadites, 
and  half  the  tribe  of  Manasseh  (2  Kings  xv. 
29;  1  Chr.  v.  6,  26),  and  settling  them  in 
Gozan  in  the  Khabour.  Further,  Tiglath- 
pileser  relates  that  before  quitting  Syria  he 
held  his  court  at  Damascus,  and  there  received 
submission  and  tribute  from  the  neighboring 
sovereigns,  among  whom  he  expressly  men- 
tions, not  only  Pekah  of  Samaria,  but  "  Yahu- 
Khazi  (i,  e.  Ahaz),  king  of  Judah."  ^  This 
passage  of  the  Assyrian  annals  very  remarka- 
bly illustrates  the  account  given  in  2  Kings 
xvi.  10-16,  of  the  visit  of  Ahaz  to  Damascus 
"  to  meet  King  Tiglath-pileser." 

The  annals  of  Tiglath-pileser  contain  also 
some  mention  of  the  two  Israelite  monarchs, 

1  Ancient  Monarchies^  vol.  ii.  pp.  131, 132.    C^^mpare  Lenor- 
mant  Manuel,  torn.  ii.  p.  86. 

2  Ancient  Monarchies,  vol.  ii.  p.  133,  2d  ed. 


136  HISTORICAL   ILLUSTRATIONS 

Menaliem  and  Hoshea.  Menahem  appears  as 
Slight chrono-  tributary  to  Assyria  in  the  early  part 
cuity.  of    Tiglath-pileser's    reign    (about 

B.  c.  743)  ;  and  Hoshea  makes  submission  to 
the  Assyrian  monarch,  probably  in  his  last 
year,  B.  c.  728.^  These  Assyrian  dates  in- 
volve a  certain  amount  of  chronological  diffi- 
culty when  compared  with  the  Hebrew ;  but 
the  Hebrew  dates  of  the  time  are  evidently  in 
confusion,  the  original  numbers,  as  given  by 
the  sacred  writers,  having  certainly  been  cor- 
rupted in  many  instances.  To  produce  a  com- 
plete accord  between  the  two  chronologies  at 
this  point,  we  should  have  to  give  Pekah  a 
reign  of  ten,  instead  of  twenty  years. 

Of  Hoshea,  the  last  Israelite  king,  there  is 
no  further  mention  in  the  Assyrian  annals. 
shaimaneser's  Slialmanescr,  the  Assyrian  monarch, 
noSbyMa^  ^^^^  ^'^^  engaged  in  hostilities  with 
nander.  j^jyj^  ^qj.  several  ycars,  has  left  no 

records ;  which  may  be  accounted  for  by  the 
shortness  of  his  reign,  or  by  the  fact  that  he 
was  succeeded  by  a  usurper.  The  Assyrian 
canon,  however,  agrees  with  Scripture  in  mak- 
ing Shalmaneser  king  directly  after  Tiglath- 
pileser  ;  and  Menander  of  Ephesus  spoke  of 
his  warring  in  Southern  Syria,  where  he  said 
that  Tyre  was  besieged  hj  him  for  five  years.^ 

1  Ancient  Monarchies,  vol.  ii.  pp.  130,  133. 

2  Menand.  ap.  Joseph.  Ant.  Jud.  ix.  14. 


OF   THE   OLD   TESTAMENT.  137 

Hoshea's  league  with  "  So,  king  of  Egypt " 
(2  Kings  xvii.  4),  admits  of  some  illustration 
from  the  Egyptian  records,  since  it  «  go,  king  of 
is  almost  exactly  at  the  time  of  Sed  on  the 
Hoshea's  reign  that  a  change  oc-  aS/pS mon- 
curs  in  the  dynastic  lists  of  Egypt,  '^""'°*^' 
which  is  accompanied  by  a  recovery  of  yigor 
on  the  part  of  that  power  and  a  resumption 
of  the  old  policy  of  aggression.  Manetho's 
twenty-fifth,  or  Ethiopian,  dynasty  appears  to 
have  extended  its  influence  into  Lower  Egypt 
about  B.  c.  725,1  or  a  little  later ;  and  the 
"  So  "  (^Seveh^  or  Sava)  of  Kings  may  reason- 
ably be  identified  with  the  first  monarch  of 
this  dynasty,  the  Sabaco  of  Manetho  and  He- 
rodotus, and  the  Shebek  I.  of  the  hieroglyphi- 
cal  inscriptions.  This  prince,  who  contended 
with  S argon  in  Southern  Palestine  a  little 
later, 2  may  well  have  attracted  the  regard  of 
Hoshea,  when,  about  B.  c.  724  or  723,  he  was 
looking  out  for  some  powerful  ally  who  might 
help  him  to  throw  off  the  yoke  of  Assyria. 
The  league  formed  between  the  two  neighbors 
is  natural,  and  has  many  analogies  ;  so  too  has 
the  Egyptian  monarch's  desertion  of  his  pro- 
tege in  the  hour  of  peril,  a  course  of  conduct 
only  too  familiar  to  Egyptian  princes. 

1  Lenormant,  Manuel,  torn.  i.  p.  457. 

2  Ancient  Monaxchies,  vol.  ii.  pp.  143-145. 


138  HISTORICAL  ILLUSTHATIONS 

The  capture  of  Samaria,  and  the  deportation 
of  its  people  by  the  Assyrians,  which  termi- 
Thefaiiof  sar  natcd  the  reign  of  Hoshea,  and  at 
hl^the  ah^}t-    the  same  time  brought  the  kingdom 

lan  records.  ^£  Jgj.3^g]^  ^q  ^^  q^^^  jg  noticcd  in  the 

annals  of  Sargon,^  who  was  Shalmaneser's  suc- 
cessor, and  assigned  by  him  to  his  first  year, 
which  was  B.  c.  722-721.  Here,  it  will  be 
observed,  there  is  an  exact  accord  between  the 
Assyrian  and  the  Hebrew  dates,  the  Hebrew 
chronology  placing  the  fall  of  Samaria  in  the 
135th  year  before  the  capture  of  Jerusalem  by 
Nebuchadnezzar,  which  was  in  the  18th  year 
of  that  king,  or  B.  c.  586  (and  B.  c.  586+ 
135  producing  B.  c.  721).  Again,  Sargon  re- 
lates that  he  carried  away  captive  from  Sa- 
maria 27,280  persons ;  and  he  subsequently 
states  that  he  transported  numerous  prisoners 
from  Babylonia  to  a  place  "  in  the  land  of  the 
Hittites,"  which  is  probably  Samaria,  though 
the  inscription  is  not  at  this  point  quite  legible 
(compare  2  Kings  xvii.  24).  It  may  be  ob- 
jected that,  according  to  the  narrative  of 
Kings,  Shalmaneser,  and  not  Sargon,  appears 
as   the   conqueror   of    Hoshea   and  captor  of 

1  Ancient  Monnrcliies,  vol.  ii.  p.  141. 

*  The  "annals"  meant  above  are  the  Assyrian  inscriptions 
which  furnish  this  information.  The  principal  monuments 
which  relate  to  Sargon  are  now  in  the  Louvre  at  Paris.  See 
Prof.  Rawlinson's  article  on  Saugon,  in  Smith's  Bibl.  Diet 
vol.  iv.  p.  2844,  Amer.  ed.  —  H. 


OF   THE   OLD   TESTAMENT.  139 

Samaria  (lb.  3-6) ;  and  undoubtedly  this 
is  the  impression  produced  on  the  ordinary- 
reader  ;  but  a  careful  examination  of  the  text 
of  Kings  removes  this  impression,  and  rather 
produces  a  contrary  one.  For  while  in  the 
first  passage  where  the  capture  is  mentioned 
(2  Kings  xvii.  3-6),  the  name  of  Shalman- 
eser  occurs  only  in  verse  3,  and  subsequently, 
in  verses  4,  5,  and  6,  the  phrase  used  four  times 
is  "  the  King  of  Assyria,"  who  may  at  any 
point  in  the  narrative  be  a  new  monarch,  in 
the  second  passage  (2  Kings  xviii.  9-11) 
there  seems  to  be  a  distinct  intimation  that 
Shalmaneser  was  not  the  actual  captor,  since 
the  phrase  is  changed,  and  while  we  are  told 
that  "  he  (Shalmaneser)  came  up  against  Sa- 
maria and  besieged  it  "  (xviii.  9),  in  the  fol- 
lowing verse  the  expression  used  is,  "  they 
took  ity  Had  the  same  monarch  who  began 
the  siege  effected  the  capture,  the  writer 
would  naturally  have  said,  "  and  at  the  end  of 
three  years  he  took  it."  ^ 

1  *  Without  separating  the  subject  of  the  first  verb  so  dis- 
tinctly from  that  of  the  second  verb,  we  may  suppose  that 
Shalmaneser,  though  he  did  not  himself  capture  Samaria,  pre- 
pared the  way  for  it  by  his  invasion  of  the  land  of  Israel  and 
his  seige  of  Samaria.  The  Hebrew  writer  (2  K.  xviii.  10)  may 
have  had  in  mind  that  cooperation  and  may  have  meant  to 
recognize  it  by  passing  thus  abruptly  from  the  singular  to  the 
plural.  Hence  "they"  in  the  A.  V.  (not  expressed  in  the 
Hebrew)  would  stand  for  Assyrians,  and  include  Shalmaneser 
among  them.  —  H. 


140  HISTOKICAL   ILLUSTRATIONS 

The  discovery  itself  of  S  argon  as  a  real 
Assyrian  king,  the  successor  of  Shahnaneser, 
and  the  predecessor  and  father  of  Sennach- 
sargon'8  rec-  ©fib,  is  an  important  illustration  of 
isa^Tr^  2  Scripture,  since,  until  the  name  was 
Kings  xvu.  6.  recovered  from  the  Assyrian  monu- 
ments, there  was  no  confirmation  at  all  of 
Isaiah's  mention  of  Sargon,  Elng  of  Assyria 
(xx.  1),  nor  any  means  of  determining  the 
place  of  this  monarch  in  the  Assyrian  lists. 
The  passage  of  Isaiah  stood  by  itself,  the  sole 
evidence  during  five-and-twenty  centuries  of 
there  ever  having  been  an  Assyrian  king  of 
the  name ;  and  many  critics  and  historians 
were  led  in  consequence  to  doubt  his  distinct 
personality,  and  to  identify  him  with  Shalma- 
neser,  Sennacherib,  or  Esarhaddon.^  The 
Assyrian  discoveries  have  put  an  end  to  all 
surmises  of  this  character,  and  have  given  to 
Sargon  a  definite  position,  a  marked  individu- 
ality, and  an  important  place  in  the  sacred - 
narrative.  It  appears  to  be  Sargon  who  is 
intended  in  2  Kings  xvii.  6,  24,  and  xviii.  11, 
as  well  as  in  Isa.  xx.  1,  4,  and  6.  Isaiah's 
mention  of  his  capturing  Ashdod,  and  being 
engaged  in  hostilities  with  the  Egyptians  and 
the  Ethiopians,  is  confirmed  by  the  Assyrian 
records,^  which  also  illustrate  very  remarkably 

1  See  Smith's  Biblical  Dictionary,  ad  voc.  Sargon. 

2  Ancient  Monarchies,  vol.  ii.  pp.  142-147,  2d  edit. 


OF   THE   OLD   TESTAMENT.  141 

the  statement,  that,  when  he  carried  the  Sa- 
maritans into  captivity,  he  placed  some  of 
them  ''in  the  cities  of  the  Medes."  For  Sar- 
gon  relates  that,  having  overrun  a  large  por- 
tion of  Media,  he  seized  a  number  of  the 
towns,  and  "annexed  them  to  Assyria," 
which,  according  to  the  system  regularly  fol- 
lowed by  him  in  his  conquests,^  would  involve 
his  occupying  them  with  colonists  from  a  dis- 
tance. 

The  Hebrew  records  relate  that  Hezekiah, 
the  son  of  Ahaz,  after  having  borne  the  As- 
syrian   yoke    which    his    father    had    Sennacherib's 

accepted,   for   a   certain    tmie,    re-  tion  against 

ITT  .  .  ,  '  T        r    Mezekiah  de- 

volted,  and  trusting   m  the  aid  of  scribed  tuUy  la 

ITT  1         the  annals  of 

Ji*gypt,  like  the  Israelite  monarch,  Sennacherib. 
Hoshea,  resumed  his  independence.  Thus 
provoked,  "  Sennacherib,"  we  are  told,  "  King 
of  Assyria,  came  up  against  all  the  fenced 
cities  of  Judah,  and  took  them ;  and  Heze- 
kiah, King  of  Judah,  sent  to  the  king  of  As- 
syria to  Lachish,  saying,  I  have  offended : 
return  from  me :  that  which  thou  puttest 
upon  me  I  will  bear :  and  the  King  of  As- 
syria appointed  unto  Hezekiah,  King  of  Judah, 
three  hundred  talents  of  silver  and  thirty 
talents   of   gold"  (2    Kings   xviii.    13,   14).2 

1-  Ancient  Monarchies,  vol.  ii.  p.  152. 

2  *  For  a  pictorial  delineation  of  this  siege  of  Lachish,  drawn 
from  Assyrian  monuments,  see  Smith's  Bibl.  Dictionary,  vol.  ii- 
p.  1579  f.,  Amer.  ed.  —  IL 


142  HISTORICAL   ILLUSTRATIONS 

The  annals  of  Sennacherib,  son  and  successor 
of  Sargon,  contain  a  full  account  of  this  cam- 
paign. "  Because  Hezekiah,  King  of  Judah," 
says  Sennacherib,  "  would  not  submit  to  my 
yoke,  I  came  up  against  him,  and  by  force  of 
arms  and  by  the  might  of  my  power  /  took 
forty-six  of  his  stroyig  fenced  cities^  and  of 
the  smaller  towns  which  were  scattered  about 
I  took  and  plundered  a  countless  number. 
And  from  these  places  I  captured  and  carried 
off  as  spoil  200,150  people,  old  and  young, 
Baale  and  female,  together  with  horses  and 
mares,  asses  and  camels,  oxen  and  sheep,  a 
countless  multitude.  And  Hezekiah  himself 
I  shut  up  in  Jerusalem,  like  a  bird  in  a  cage, 
building  towers  round  the  city  to  hem  him 
in,   and   raising  banks   of   earth  against  the 

gates  to  prevent  escape Then  upon  this 

Hezekiah  there  fell  the  fear  of  the  power  of 
my  arms,  and  he  sent  out  to  me  the  chiefs  and 
the  elders  of  Jerusalem  tvith  thirty  talents  of 
gold  and  eight  hundred  talents  of  silver,  and 
divers  treasures,  a  rich  and  immense  booty. 
....  All  these  things  were  brought  to  me 
at  Nineveh,  the  seat  of  my  government,  Hez- 
ekiah having  sent  them  hy  way  of  tribute^ 
and  as  a  token  of  submission  to  my  power."  ^ 
The  close  agreement  of  these  two  accounts  is 

I  Ancient  Monarchies,  vol.  iil.  pp.  160,  161. 


OF   THE   OLD   TESTAMENT.  143 

admitted  on  all  hands,  and  is  indeed  so  pal- 
pable that  it  is  needless  to  enlarge  upon  it 
here.  The  Assyrian  monarch,  with  pardonable 
pride,  brings  out  fully  all  the  details  at  which 
the  Hebrew  annalist,  in  his  patriotic  reticence, 
only  hints,  —  as  the  ravage  far  and  w^ide  of  the 
whole  territory,  the  vast  numbers  of  the  cap- 
tives and  the  spoil,  the  actual  siege  and 
blockade  of  the  capital,  the  alarm  of  the 
Jewish  monarch,  and  his  eagerness  to  pro- 
pitiate his  offended  lord,  —  but  his  main  facts 
are  exactly  those  which  the  Jewish  historian 
puts  on  record,  the  only  apparent  discrepancy 
being  in  the  number  of  the  talents  of  silver, 
where  he  probably  counts  the  whole  of  the 
treasure  carried  off,  while  the  Hebrew  writer 
intends  to  give  the  amount  of  the  permanent 
tribute  which  was  agreed  upon.  It  may  be 
added,  that  the  details,  which  the  author  of 
Kings  suppresses,  are  abundantly  noticed  in 
the  writings  of  the  contemporary  prophet, 
Isaiah,  who  describes  the  ravage  of  the  terri- 
tory (Isa.  xxiv.),  the  siege  of  Jerusalem 
(xxix.  1-8),  and  the  distress  and  terror  of  the 
inhabitants  (xxii.  1-14),  even  more  graphi- 
cally and  more  fully  than  the  historiographer 
of  Sennacherib.^ 

1  Compare  also  2  Chr.  xxxii.  1-8,  which  gives  very  fully  the 
preparations  for  the  defense  of  Jerusalem  made  by  Hezekiah. 


144  HISTORICAL   ILLUSTRATIONS 

On  the  second  expedition  of  Sennacherib 
into  Syria,  which  terminated  with  the  terrible 
Silence  of  As-  disastcr  related  in  2  Kings  xix.  35,^ 

svrian  records     , ,  i  c       *  •  •^        i 

with  respect  to  the  annals  01  Assyria  are  silent. 
pedition.  Such   silciice  is  in  no  way  surpris- 

ing. It  has  always  been  the  practice  in  the 
East  to  commemorate  only  the  glories  of  the 
monarch,  and  to  ignore  his  defeats  and  re- 
verses.^  The  Jewish  records  furnish  a  soli- 
tary exception  to  this  practice.  In  the  entire 
range  of  the  Assyrian  annals  there  is  no  case 
where  a  monarch  admits  a  disaster,  or  even 
a  check,  to  have  happened  to  himself  or  his 
generals  ;  and  the  only  way  in  which  we  be- 
come distinctly  aware  from  the  annals  them- 
selves that  Assyrian  history  was  not  an  un- 
broken series  of  victories  and  conquests,  is 
from  an  occasional  reference  to  a  defeat  or  loss 
as  sustained  by  a  former  monarch.  Other- 
wise we  have  to  gather  the  ill-success  of  the 
Assyrian  arms  from  silence,  from  apparent  de- 

1  *  "  The  angel  of  the  Lord  went  out,  and  smote  in  the  camp 
of  the  Assyrians  an  hundred  fourscore  and  five  thousand:  and 
when  they  [the  few  left,  among  whom  was  the  king],  arose  early 
in  the  morning,  behold,  they  were  all  dead  corpses." 

It  may  have  been  a  pestilential  blast  under  the  image  of  a 
destroying  angel,  that  occasioned  this  mortality,  or  it  may  have 
been  the  result  of  an  angel's  more  direct  unseen  agency  (Ps. 
xxxvii.  49;  2  Sam.  xxiv.  16).  See  Dean  Stanley's  note.  Hist. 
of  the  Jeivish  CInirch,  vol.  ii.  p.  530,  and  Prof.  Eawlinson's 
Herod,  ii.  141.— H. 

2  *  See  Note  on  p.  119  of  the  "Illustrations."  — H. 


OF  THE   OLD   TESTAMENT.  145 

pression,  from  the  discontinuance  of  expedi- 
tions toward  this  or  that  quarter.  In  the 
present  case  there  is  such  a  discontinuance. 
Sennacherib  during  his  hiter  years  made  no 
expedition  further  westward  than  Cilicia  ;  nor 
were  the  Assyrian  designs  against  Southern 
Syria  and  Egypt  resumed  till  toward  the 
close  of  the  reign  of  Esarhaddon. 

But  besides  this  tacit  confirmation  of  the 
Scriptural  narrative,  profane  history  furnishes 
us  with  an  important  explicit  tes-  Great  destruc- 
timony.  The  Egyptian  priests  de-  nacherib's  ar- 
clared  to  Herodotus,  out  of  their  by  Herodotus. 
records,  that,  about  a  century  and  a  half  before 
the  conquest  of  their  country  by  Cambyses, 
an  invasion  of  it  had  been  attempted  by  Sen- 
nacherib, King  of  the  Assyrians  and  Arabians, 
who  marched  a  vast  host  to  the  border  of  the 
Egyptian  territory,  where  he  was  met  by  the 
Egyptians  under  their  king,  Sethos.  The 
two  hosts  faced  each  other  near  Pelusium,  on 
the  most  eastern  branch  of  the  Nile.  Here, 
as  they  lay  encamped,  army  over  against 
army,  there  came,  they  said,  in  the  night  a 
multitude  of  field-mice,  which  devoured  all  the 
quivers  and  bowstrings  of  the  Assyrians,  and 
ate  the  thongs  by  which  they  managed  their 
shields.  Next  morning,  as  soon  as  they  dis- 
covered what  had  happened,  they  commenced 


146  fflSTORICAL  ILLUSTRATIONS 

their  flight,  and  great  multitudes  of  them  fell, 
as  they  had  no  arms  wherewith  to  defend 
themselves.  In  commemoration  of  the  event, 
S ethos,  they  added,  the  Egyptian  king,  erected 
a  monument  of  himself,  which  they  showed  to 
the  Greek  traveller.  It  was  a  stone  statue 
of  a  man  with  a  mouse  in  his  hand,  and  bore 
an  inscription,  "  Look  on  me,  and  learn  to 
reverence  the  gods."  ^  We  have  here  evi- 
dently an  allegorized  version  of  that  terrible 
calamity  which  overtook  the  host  of  Sennach- 
erib in  the  nighty  and  which  was  followed  in  the 
morning  by  the  hasty  flight  of  the  survivors. 
The  particular  form  of  the  allegory  was  de- 
termined by  the  character  of  the  work  of  art, 
which  had  been  erected  to  celebrate  the  occa- 
sion, where  the  mouse  in  the  hand  was  prob- 
ably a  mere  symbol  of  ruin  and  destruction.^ 

The  murder  of  Sennacherib  by  two  of  his 
sons,  though  not  distinctly  related  in  the  As- 
MurderofSen-  svrian  rccords,  is  illustrated  bv  the 

nacherib  illus-  ^ .    .  -,  .         .  .       .      ^ 

trated.  couditiou  wliercin  Assyria  is  found 

at  the  commencement  of  the  reign  of  Esarhad- 
don.  This  monarch's  inscriptions  show  that 
soon  after  his  accession  he  was  engaged  for 
some  months  in  a  war  with  his  half-brothers,^ 

1  Herod,  ii.  141. 

2  Compare  1  Sam.  vi.  4,  5. 

8  See  Ancient  Monarchies,  vol.  ii.  p.  186. 


OF   THE   OLD   TESTAMENT.  147 

who  would  naturally,  after  murdering  their 
father,  endeavor  to  seat  themselves  upon  his 
throne.  The  Greek  historian,  Abydenus,  al- 
ludes to  the  same  struggle ;  ^  and  the  Arme- 
nian records  declared  that  the  two  assassins, 
having  made  their  escape  from  the  scene  of 
conflict,  obtained  a  refuge  in  Armenia,  where 
the  reigning  monarch  gave  them  lands,  which 
long  continued  in  the  possession  of  their  pos- 
terity.2 

The  history  of  Hezekiah,  as  related  in  the 
Second  Book  of  Kings,  introduces  to  our  no- 
tice, besides  Sennacherib  and  Esar-  iiezekiah's 

«       1  1  ,  ,1  1  p    contempora- 

haddon,   two    other    monarchs,   ot  ries,  Tirhakah 

,  T  ...  f,  andMerodach- 

whom  we  have  mention  m  proiane  Baiadan 
records.      These   are    "  Tirhakah,  frommouu- 
King  of  Ethiopia "  (2  Kings  xix.  peXd. 
9),  and  "  Merodach-Baladan,  King  of  Baby- 
lon" (lb.  XX.  12,  13;    comp.  2  Chr.  xxxii. 
31).    Tirhakah,  King  of  Ethiopia,  is  undoubt- 
edly the  Tehrak  of  the  Egyptian  monuments,^ 
who  reigned  over   Egypt   from  B.  c.  690  to 
B.  C.  667,  and  who  may  have  been  monarch 
of  Ethiopia  for  about  ten  years  before  he  took 
the  title  of  King  of  Egypt.     He  is  the  third 
king  of  Manetho's  twenty-fifth  or  Ethiopian 

1  Ap.  Euseb.  Chron.  Can.  i.  9. 

2  Mos.  Choren.  Hist.  Arm.  i.  22. 

8  See  Biblical  Bictionanj ,  ad  voc.  Tirhakah. 


148  HISTOEICAL  ILLUSTRATIONS 

dynasty ;  and  his  relations  toward  Egypt 
would  make  it  natural  for  him  to  bestir  him- 
self, when  that  country  was  threatened  by  the 
advance  of  Sennacherib's  army,  and  to  assume 
the  character  of  its  protector.  Merodach- 
Baladan  appears  in  the  Assyrian  inscriptions,^ 
and  also  in  the  famous  document  known  as 
"  the  Canon  of  Ptolemy."  He  had  two  reigns 
at  Babylon,  separated  from  each  other  by  an 
interval.  Being  an  enemy  of  Assyria,  and  at 
war  successively  with  both  Sargon  and  Sen- 
nacherib, he  would  be  attracted  toward  Heze- 
kiah,  who  had  thrown  off  the  Assyrian  yoke, 
and  would  be  glad  to  conclude  with  him  an 
alliance.  Hence,  probably,  his  embassy, 
which,  if  it  was  in  B.  c.  713,  as  the  Hebrew 
numbers  make  it,  belonged  to  his  first  reign, 
when  he  was  contemporary  with  Sargon,  and 
occupied  the  Babylonian  throne  from  B.  C. 
721  to  709.  His  second  reign  fell  in  B.  c.  703. 
Of  Manasseh's  capture  and  imprisonment 
at  Babylon  by  a  king  of  Assyria,  who,  as  con- 
Manasseh's  temporary  with  Hezekiah's  son  and 
yTon  ^cords  succcssor,  should  bc  Esarhaddou, 
doSI^s  reX^*^*  the  son  and  successor  of  Hezekiah's 
dence  there,  autagouist,  Scnnaclierib,  it  cannot 
be  said  that  we  have  any  direct  profane  notice. 
We  find,  however,  by  the  Assyi-ian  records, 

1  Ancient  Monarchies,  voL  iii.  pp.  40,  41. 


OF   THE   OLD   TESTAMENT.  149 

that  Manasseh  was  reckoned  by  Esarhaddon 
among  his  tributaries  ;  ^  and  we  have  a  curious 
ilhistration  of  what  is  at  first  sight  most  sur- 
prising in  the  sacred  narrative,  namely,  the 
statement  that  "  the  captains  of  the  host  of  the 
King  of  Assyria,"  when  they  took  Manasseh 
prisoner,  carried  him  with  them,  not  to  Nine- 
veh, but  to  Babylon  (2  Chr.  xxxiii.  11). 
It  appears  by  the  inscriptions,  that  Esarhad- 
don  not  only,  like  his  grandfather,  Sargon, 
took  the  title  of  King  of  Babylon,  but  that  he 
actually  built  himself  a  palace  there ,2  in  which 
he  must  undoubtedly  have  occasionally  resided. 
Thus  there  is  nothing  strange  in  an  important 
prisoner  being  brought  to  him  at  the  southern 
capital,  though  such  a  thing  could  scarcely  have 
happened  to  any  other  Ass^^rian  sovereign.^ 

The  cessation  of  all  mention  of  Assyria  in 
the  Jewish  records  after  the  reign  of  Manas- 
seh, and  the  new  attitude  taken  by  josiah's  great- 
Josiah  (about  B.  c.  634-625),  who  Sy°with"the 
claimed  and  exercised  a  sovereignty  JnS^fin  0?"°^ 
not  only  over  Judaea,  but  over  ^^^^>"*- 
Samaria  and  Galilee  (2  Chr.  xxxiv.  6),  ac- 
cords well  with  what  we  learn  from  profane 

1  Ancient  Monarchies,  vol.  ii.  p.  200,  note  8. 

2  Ibid.  p.  196. 

3  *  This  is  the  only  narrow  margin  in  the  history  where  the 
incident  could  be  inserted  with  any  appearance  of  truth.  On 
this  coincidence,  see  more  fully  BiU.  Dictionary,  vol.  ii.  p. 
1774,  Amer.  ed.  — H. 


150  HIST0J5ICAL  ILLUSTRATIONS 

history  as  to  Assyria's  decline  and  final  ruin. 
From  about  the  year  B.  c.  633  we  begin  to 
find  Assyria  showing  symptoms  of  weakness. 
In  that  year,  according  to  Herodotus,  Nineveh 
was  attacked  by  the  Medes.^  Soon  afterwards 
an  immense  horde  of  savage  invaders  from  the 
North  seems  to  have  swept  across  the  whole 
of  Western  Asia,  carrying  ruin  and  desolation 
over  vast  regions,  and  probably  afflicting  As- 
syria as  much  as  any  other  power.^  About 
the  same  time  Egypt  shook  off  the  Assyrian 
yoke,  and  Psamatik  I.  began  aggressions  upon 
Southern  Syria.  A  king  who  in  his  old  age 
had  become  feeble,  held  the  Assyrian  sceptre, 
and  the  Medes  were  allowed  to  increase  in 
strength  without  an  effort  being  made  to  keep 
them  in  check.  At  last,  about  B.  c.  626, 
Nineveh  was  again  besieged  by  this  enemy, 
who  being  joined  by  the  Babylonians  and  Su- 
sianians,  in  a  short  time  gained  a  complete 
success.  Assyria  fell  B.  c.  625  or  624  ;  Nin- 
eveh was  razed  to  the  ground ;  and  the  Medes 
and  Babylonians  divided  the  empire  between 
them.  It  was  easy  for  Josiah  during  this 
troublous  time  to  free  his  country  from  sub- 
jection to  a  hated  yoke,  and  to  effect  an  en- 

1  Herod,  i.  102.  According  to  this  writer,  the  last  year  of 
Phraortes  preceded  by  seventj'-five  j'ears  the  first  of  Cyrus, 
B.  C.  558. 

2  Ancient  Monarchies,  vol.  ii.  pp.  221-228. 


OF   THE   OLD   TESTAMENT.  151 

largement  of  his  dominions  at  the  expense  of 
his  less  powerful  neighbors,  who  could  obtain 
no  help  from  their  nominal  suzerain. 

The  war  of   Josiah  with  Necho,   King   of 
Egypt,  and  the  precedings  of  that  monarch 
in   Syria   and    Palestine,    between  j^^^^,^  g  ,,. 
the  years  B.  c.  610  and  B.  c.  604,  Jan  conq„  t^ 

•/  and  their  loss 

receive  important  illustration  from  confiruied  by 

^  Herodotus  and 

the  histories  of  Herodotus  and  Be-  Berosus. 
rosus.  Herodotus  relates  that  Necho  "  made 
war  by  land  upon  the  Syrians,  and  defeated 
them  in  a  pitched  battle  at  Magdolus ; "  ^  while 
Berosus  declares  that  toward  the  close  of  the 
reign  of  Nabopolassar,  or  shortly  before  B.  c. 
605,  troubles  broke  out  in  the  West,;  Egypt, 
Syria,  and  Phoenicia  rose  in  revolt ;  and  Nabo- 
polassar  was  forced  to  send  his  son  Nebuchad- 
nezzar into  those  parts  to  put  down  the  insur- 
rection and  recover  the  countries.^  The  Jewish 
narrative  connects  and  harmonizes  these  two 
accounts.  It  shows  us  Necho  as  the  first  dis- 
turber of  the  tranquillity  that  prevailed,  and 
indicates  to  us  a  design  on  his  part  to  add  to 
his  dominions  all  Syria  as  far  as  Carchemish 
on  the  Euphrates  (2  Chr.  xxxv.  20)  ;  it  tells 
us  of  the  opposition  offered  to  this  design 
by  Josiah,  and  his  defeat  in  a  pitched  battle 
at   Megiddo  (lb.    22-24),   the   Magdolus   of 

1  Herod,  ii.  159.  2  Ap.  Joseph,  c.  Ap.  i.  19. 


i52  HISTORICAL   ILLUSTRATIONS 

the  Greek  writer  —  it  intimates  that  after 
this  Necho  carried  out  his  plans  successfully, 
and  for  a  time  ruled  over  all  S^^ria  (2  Kings 
xxiv.  7)  ;  it  then  records  the  advance  of 
Nebuchadnezzar,  his  defeat  of  Necho  (Jer. 
xlvi.  2),  and  his  recovery  of  the  entire  region 
lying  between  the  Euphrates  and  the  "  river 
of  Egypt."  Necho  after  this,  it  tells  us, 
"  came  not  again  any  more  out  of  his  land  ;  " 
the  yoke  of  Babylon  being  henceforth,  as 
Berosus  also  stated,  firmly  fixed  on  the  west- 
ern countries. 

Of  the  closing  scenes  in  the  history  of  the 
kingdom  of  Judah,  the  repeated  revolts  of 
Nebuchadnez-    tlic    Jcwlsh    uionarclis,    their    re- 

zar's  conquest  .  .       . 

of  Jerusalem      UCWCd      UCgOtiatlOUS      With      Egypt, 

Berosus.  their  deposition  by  their   offended 

lord,  their  captivities,  and  the  final  punishment 
of  the  rebellious  race  by  the  destruction  of  its 
city  and  temple,  and  the  deportation  of  the 
great  mass  of  the  people  to  Babylon,  we 
could  only  expect  to  have  detailed  confirma- 
tion if  we  possessed  the  annals  of  Nebuchad- 
nezzar. Unfortunately,  no  such  document 
has  hitherto  been  recovered.  We  know,  how- 
ever, that  the  history  of  Berosus,  which  was 
based  upon  native  records,  stated  that  "  Neb- 
uchadnezzar, having  conquered  the  Jews, 
burnt  the  Temple  at  Jerusalem,  and  remov- 


OF   THE    OLD   TESTAMENT.  153 

ing  the  entire  people  from  their  homes,  trans- 
ported them  to  Babylon  ;  "  ^  and  we  have  no 
reason  to  doubt  that,  as  the  main  facts  are 
thus  confirmed,  so  would  be  the  details,  if  the 
full  history  of  the  time  had  come  down  to  us. 
Where  history  affords  the  means  of  testing 
the  details,  they  are  correct.  The  name  of 
the  Egyptian  monarch  on  whom  Zedekiah 
relied  is  given,  in  Jer.  xliv.  30,  as  "  Hophra,"  ^ 
correctly ;  for  in  B.  c.  588-586  Apries,  or 
Haifra-het^  ruled  over  Egypt.^  And  the 
length  of  Nebuchadnezzar's  reign  and  the 
name  of  his  successor  are  delivered  with  the 
same  accuracy  by  the  writer  of  Kings  (2 
Kings  XXV.  27),  whose  ''  Evil-merodach "  is 
clearly  the  Eveilmaraduchus  of  the  native  his- 
torian,* and  whose  calculation  of  the  length  of 
Jehoiachin's  captivity  (lb.)  compared  with 
his  statement  that  that  monarch  was  made 
prisoner  in  Nebuchadnezzar's  eightli  year  (lb. 
xxiv.  12),  produces  for  the  length  of  Nebuch- 
adnezzar's reign  the  exact  period  of  forty- 
three  years,  which  is  assigned  him  both  by 
Berosus  ^  and  by  the  Canon  of  Ptolemy. 

1    Ap.  Joseph,  c.  Ap.  i.  19. 

'^  *  In  the  English  version  it  is  "Pharaoh-Hophra,''  i.  e.  King 
Hophra;  for  Pharaoh  was  not  a  personal  name  among  the  Egyp- 
tians, but  one  of  the  royal  dynastic  titles,  like  Ptolemy,  Seleiicid, 
Caesar.  Sec  also  2.  K.  xxiii.  29,  33,  etc.  Compare  note  on  p.  37 
—  H. 

8  Wilkinson  in  Rawlinson's  Herodotus,  vol.  ii.  pp.  210,  323, 

*  Ap.  Joseph,  c.  Aji.  i.  21.  5  Ibid.  1.  s.  c. 


154  HISTORICAL   ILLUSTRATIONS 

Such  are  the  most  remarkable  of  the  direct 
historical  illustrations  which  profane  sources 
Wide  extent  fumish  f or  tlic  pcriod  of  Jewish 
uon^aM*'^  history  between  Rehoboam  and 
tiritpTrent"^  Zcdckiah.  They  include  notices  of 
discrepancies.  ^Imost  cvcry  forcigu  mouarch  men- 
tioned in  the  course  of  the  narrative  —  of 
Shishak,  Zerah,  Benhadad,  Hazael,  Mesha, 
Rezin,  Pul,  Tiglath-pileser,  Shalmaneser,  So, 
Sargon,  Sennacherib,  Tirhakah,  Merodach- 
Baladan,  Esarhaddon,  Necho,  Nebuchadnez- 
zar, Evil-merodach,  and  Apries,  —  and  of  the 
Jewish  or  Israehte  kings,  Omri,  Ahab,  Jehu, 
Ahaziah,  Menahem,  Pekah,  Ahaz,  Hoshea, 
Hezekiah,  and  Manasseh.  All  these  monarchs 
occur  in  profane  history  in  the  order,  and  at 
or  near  the  time  which  the  sacred  narrative 
assigns  to  them.  The  synchronisms,  which 
that  narrative  supplies,  are  borne  out  wherever 
there  is  any  further  evidence  on  the  subject. 
The  general  condition  of  the  powers  which 
come  into  contact  with  tiie  Jews  is  rightly  de- 
scribed ;  and  the  fluctuations  which  they  ex- 
perience, their  alternations  of  glory  and  depres- 
sion, are  correctly  given.  No  discrepancy 
occurs  between  the  sacred  and  the  profane 
throughout  the  entire  period,  excepting  here 
and  there  a  chronological  one.  And  these 
chronological  discrepancies  are  in  no  case  seri- 


OF   THE   OLD   TESTAMENT.  156 

ous.  Sennaclierib's  first  expedition  against 
Hezekiah  should,  according  to  the  Assyrian 
records,  have  fallen  about  thirteen  years  later 
than  the  Hebrew  numbers  place  it ;  and  Men- 
ahem's  reign  in  Samaria  should  have  come 
down  about  ten  years  further.  The  time  of 
Hazael,  Jehu,  and  Ahab,  appears  by  the  Assyr- 
ian records  to  have  been  about  forty  years  later 
than  it  is  placed  by  the  books  of  Kings,  accord- 
ing to  the  numbers  assigned  to  the  reigns  of  the 
Jewish  monarchs,  or  twenty  years  later  than 
the  same  authority  places  it,  according  to  the 
numbers  assigned  to  the  reigns  of  the  kings  of 
Israel.  But  the  Assyrian  chronology  of  this 
earlier  period,  it  is  to  be  remembered,  has 
come  down  to  us,  not  on  contemporary  monu- 
ments, but  on  documents  drawn  up  at  a  compar- 
atively late  date,  by  the  princes  of  the  dynasty 
of  Sargon.  Some  slight  difiiculties  also  occur  in 
adjusting  the  Egyptian  chronology  to  that  of 
the  Hebrews.  Tirhakah  comes  upon  the  scene 
seven  or  eight  years  earlier,  and  So  (or  Shebek) 
about  ten  years  earlier  than  we  should  have 
expected  from  our  Egyptian  authorities.  But 
these  authorities  do  not  appear  to  deserve  im- 
plicit credence,  and  may  well  be  in  error  to 
the  extent  required  by  the  sacred  narrative. 
So  much  corruption  has  taken  place  in  the 
numbers  of  all  ancient  works,  that  exact  chro- 


156  HISTOPJCAL   ILLUSTRATIONS 

nology  with  respect  to  events  in  the  remote 
past  is  unattainable.  Tlie  judicious  student 
of  Ancient  History  must  be  content  for  the 
most  part  with  approximate  dates,  and  will 
rely  far  more  upon  well-attested  synchronisms 
than  upon  schemes  which  have  a  mere  nu- 
merical basis. 

The  later  narrative  of  the  books  of  Chroni- 
cles and  Kings  may  further  receive  a  certain 
Further  iiius-  auiouut  of  illustratiou  of  an  indi- 
the*^lli;co^d  of  rect  character,  from  a  consideration 
profane'^hir-'*^  of  tlic  incidental  notices  which  are 
Knnera^'  droppcd  with  respect  to  the  man- 
aud  customs.  ^^^^  ^^^^  customs  of  the  foreign 
nations,  with  which  the  Jews  are  in  this  part 
of  their  history  represented  as .  coming  into 
contact.  Though  the  sacred  narrative  is  far 
from  giving  us  in  this  place  such  a  complete 
portraiture  of  the  Assyrians  or  Babylonians  as 
it  furnishes  in  the  Pentateuch  of  the  Egyp- 
tians, yet,  if  we  add  to  the  picture  drawn  in 
Chronicles  and  Kings  the  further  touches  fur- 
nished by  the  contemporary  prophets,  espe- 
cially Isaiah,  Jeremiah,  and  Ezekiel,  we  shall 
find  that  we  possess,  altogether,  a  description 
of  these  peoples,  which  is  capable  of  comparison 
with  the  account  of  them  that  has  reached  us 
from  profane  sources.  And  this  comparison, 
thoucrh  it  cannot  be  carried  to  the  extent  which 


OF   THE    OLD   TESTAMENT.  157 

was  found  possible  in  the  case  of  Egypt,i  will 
be  found  to  embrace  so  many  and  such  minute 
points  as  to  constitute  it  an  important  head  of 
evidence,  and  one  perhaps  to  many  minds 
more  convincing  than  the  direct  illustrations 
adduced  hitherto. 

The  Assyrians  are  represented  as  a  warlike 
people,  the  conquerors  of  many  kings  and  na- 
tions (2  Kings  Xix.  11-13),  possess-     portrait  drawn 

ing  numerous  chariots  (lb.  23)  and  rajfiTn^scrip- 
horsemen  (2  Kings  xviii.  23  ;  Is.  *"'^' 
xxii.  7)  ;  terrible  as  archers  (2  Kings  xix.  32 ; 
Is.  V.  28)  ;  accustomed  to  besiege  cities  by 
means  of  banks  and  forts  (lb.  and  Is.  xxix.  3) 
as  well  as  to  "  come  before  them  with  shields  " 
(2  Kings  xix.  32)  ;  merciless  when  victorious ; 
accustomed  to  break  down  and  destroy  the 
towns  of  the  enemy  (Is.  xxxvii.  26),  and  to 
carry  their  inhabitants  away  captive  (2  Kings 
XV.  29  ;  xvii.  6,  etc.),  young  and  old,  often 
"  naked  and  barefoot "  (Is.  xx.  4),  replacing 
them  by  colonists  from  a  distance  (2  Kings 
xvii.  24 ;  Ezr.  iv.  2) .  The  Assyrian  govern- 
ment is  represented  as  an  empire  over  numer- 
ous tributary  kings  (Is.  x.  8 ;  2  Kings  xvi.  7  ; 
xix.  13,  etc.).  The  monarch  stands  out  prom- 
inently at  its  head.  He  is  "  the  great  King, 
even  the  King  of   Assyria  "  (2   Kings  xviii. 

1  See  above,  pp.  41-55,  and  73-81. 


158  HISTORICAL   ILLUSTRATIONS 

28),  lord  and  master  of  all,  even  the  most  ex- 
,alted  of  his  subjects  (lb.  27),  far  removed 
above  any  rival.  Next  to  him  in  apparent 
rank  is  the  Tartan,  who  commands  his  armies 
in  his  absence  (Is.  xx.  1 ;  comp.  2  Kings  xviii. 
17),  after  whom  come  the  Rabsaris,  and  the 
Rabshakeh,  who,  by  their  names,  should  be 
"  the  chief  eunuch,"  and  "  the  chief  cup- 
bearer," grand  officers  who  represent  their 
master  in  embassies  (2  Kings  1.  s.  c).  The 
King  of  Assyria  usually  makes  war  in  person, 
marching  out  from  Nineveh  at  the  head  of 
armies,  which  appear  not  to  exceed  about 
200,000  men  (2  Kings  xix.  35).  He  fights, 
not  merely  for  the  sake  of  empire,  with  its 
concomitants  of  homage  and  tribute  (2  Kings 
xvii.  4  ;  xviii.  14),  bvit  also  in  order  to  possess 
himself  of  the  valuable  commodities  peculiar 
to  the  conquered  countries.  For  example,  he 
covets  Syria,  especially  in  order  that  he  "  may 
go  up  to  the  height  of  the  mountains,  to  the 
sides  of  Lebanon,  and  cut  down  the  tall  cedars 
thereof,  and  the  choice  fir-trees  thereof  "  (2 
Kings  xix.  23  ;  comp.  Is.  xiv.  8).  He  impris- 
ons the  monarchs  who  offend  him  (2  Kings 
xvii.  4),  and  makes  them  languish  long  in  a 
wearisome  confinement  (2  Chr.  xxxiii.  11, 
12 ;  Is.  xiv.  17),  but  occasionally  has  pity 
upon  them  and  restores  them  to  their  long- 


OF   THE    OLD   TESTAMENT.  159 

lost  thrones  (2  Chr.  xxxiii.  13).  There  is 
one  peculiarly  barbarous  custom,  which  he 
sanctions,  with  respect  to  these  unfortunates. 
When  they  have  rebelled  and  been  captured, 
they  are  brought  before  him  with  a  hook  or 
ring  passed  through  their  lip  or  their  jaw,  and 
a  thong  or  cord  attached  to  it,  by  which  their 
captor  leads  them.^ 

Again,  the  magnificence  and  luxury  of  the 
Assyrians  is  noted.  They  are  ''  clothed  with 
blue  "  (Ezek.  xxiii.  6),  "  most  gorgeously  " 
(lb.  12)  ;  they  deal  '•'•  in  broidered  work  and 
in  chests  of  rich  apparel "  (lb.  xxvii.  24)  ; 
their  merchants  are  "  multiplied  above  the 
stars  of  heaven  "  (Nah.  iii.  16);  Nineveh  is 
full  of  the  spoil  of  silver  and  the  spoil  of  gold ; 
there  is  none  end  of  the  store  and  glory  out  of 
all  of  the  pleasant  furniture  "  (lb.  ii.  9).  The 
people  combine  a  degree  of  civilization  and 
luxury  scarcely  reached  elsewhere,  with  a 
sternness,  a  fierceness,  and  a  military  spirit 
seldom  found  among  Orientals,  after  habits  of 
primitive  savagery  have  been  cast  aside. 

1  This  is  the  real  meaning  of  the  passage  incorrectly  rendered 
in  the  Authorized  Version  (2  Chr.  xxxiii.  11),  ''which  [the 
Assyrians]  took  INIanasseh  among  the  thorns  "  [where  *'  took 
Manasseh  with  the  hooks  "  (see  also  Am.  iv.  2),  is  the  correct 
rendering].  The  practice  is  also  glanced  at  in  2  Kings  xix. 
28,  as  one  that  the  Jews  in  their  day  of  success  might  employ 
against  the  Assyrians.  A  bas-relief  discovered  at  Khorsabad 
illustrates  this  practice.  See  Bibl.  Diet.  vol.  ii.  p.  1086, 
Amer.  ed. 


160  HISTORICAL   ILLUSTRATIONS. 

The  picture  thus  presented  to  us  is  in  strik-  • 
ing  accord  with  the  character  of  the  Assyrians, 
Agreement  of  of  their  mouarchj,  of  their  mode 
f'ththTll  of  warfare,  of  their  favorite  habits 
tureTand  iu-  ^ud  practiccs,  as  they  may  be  gath- 
Bcriptions.  g^g^  ^^^^^^  ^l^g  sculptured  monu- 
ments and  inscriptions.  These  exhibit  to  us 
the  Assyrian  people  as,  from  first  to  last,  a 
warrior  nation,  delighting  in  battle  even  while 
well  acquainted  with  all  the  softer  arts  of 
peace,  and  engaged  in  a  constant  series  of 
aggressions  upon  their  neighbors.  They  show 
us  the  army  divided  into  distinct  corps,  of 
which  the  most  important  are  the  chariots, 
and  the  horsemen.^  Swords  and  spears  are 
used  by  the  warriors  ;  but  the  weapon  on 
which  most  dependence  is  placed,  is  the  bow.^ 
The  siege  of  cities  is  a  favorite  subject  of 
representation  with  the  artists,  who  exhibit 
the  "  mounds,"  or  "  banks,"  piled  against  the 
walls,  and  further  portray  the  movable 
"  forts "  or  "  towers,"  which  elevate  the  be- 
siegers to  a  level  with  the  battlements  of  the 
fortified  place,  and  enable  them  to  engage  its 
defenders  on  an  equal  footing.^     At  the  same 

1  Ancient  Monarchies,  voL  i.  p.  422. 

2  Ibid.  pp.  421,  424,  etc. 

8  Lavard,  Monuments  of  Ninex'eh,  First  Series,  pi.  19. 
*  See  the  plate,  which  represents  such  a  scene,  in  Smith's  Bibl. 
Diet.   vol.   ii.   p.    1579,   Amer.  ed.      It    depicts  the    siege  of 


OF   THE    OLD   TESTAMENT.  161 

time  we  see  bodies  of  archers,  with  their 
shields  planted  firmly  before  them,  who  thus 
protected  drive  the  enemy  from  the  walls 
with  flights  of  arrows.^  Towns  when  taken 
are  ruthlessly  demolished,  the  ramparts  and 
towers  being  broken  down,  or  the  entire  place 
destroyed  by  fire.^  The  inhabitants  are  car- 
ried off  in  vast  numbers,  without  distinction 
of  age  or  sex  ;  men,  women,  and  children 
being  alike  barefoot,  and  the  children  not  un- 
frequently  naked.^  Transplantation  of  the 
conquered  races  appears  in  the  inscriptions  as 
a  system  ;  and  it  is  a  feature  of  the  system  to 
remove  to  vast  distances.*  Captive  kings  are 
imprisoned,  commonly  at  Nineveh  ;  ^  occasion- 
ally, after  a  term  of  imprisonment,  they  are 
pardoned  and  restored  to  their  thrones.^  The 
barbarous  custom  of   passing  a  hook  or  ring 

Lachish  by  Sennacherib  (2  Chr.  xxxii.  9  ;  2  K.  xviii.  17),  as 
sculptured  on  slabs  found  in  one  of  the  chambers  of  the  palace 
of  Koyunjik.  For  a  remarkable  inscription  relating  to  Hez- 
ekiah  and  the  Jews  on  one  of  the  Babylonian  cylinders,  see 
Bibl.  Diet.  vol.  ii.  p.  1061,  Amer.  ed.  ;  and  Prof.  Rawlinson, 
Bampton  Lectures  for  1859,  p.  316  ff.,  Amer.  ed.  Dean  Mil- 
man  calls  attention  to  this  coincidence  as  very  remarkable 
{History  of  the  Jews,  vol.  i.  p.  427,  Amer.  ed.).  —  H. 

1  Layard,  Monuments  of  Nineveh,  Second  Series,  pis.  18,  20, 
iind  21. 

2  Ancient  Monarchies,  vol.  i.  p.  474. 

3  See  Layard,  Monuments  of  Nineveh,  Second  Series,  pis.  18, 
19,  22,  23,  etc. 

4  Ancient  Monarchies,  vol.  ii.  p.  152. 

» Ibid.  pp.  159,  173,  202,  etc.  6  Ibid.  p.  202. 

11 


162  HISTORICAL   ILLUSTRATIONS 

through  the  lip  of  an  important  prisoner,  and 
leading  him  about  by  a  thong  attached  to  it, 
is  exhibited  in  the  sculptures,  where  captives 
thus  treated  are  brought  into  the  king's  pres- 
ence by  their  captors. ^ 

Again,  the  Assyrian  government  is  proved 
to  have  been  such  as  represented  in  Scripture. 
The  empire  is  a  congeries  of  kingdoms,  its 
different  portions  being  for  the  most  part 
ruled  by  the  native  princes  of  the  several 
countries,  who  render  to  their  suzerain  tribute 
and  service,  but  are  allowed  to  govern  their 
respective  territories  without  any  control  or 
interference.^  The  monarch  is  supreme,  irre- 
sistible, set  on  an  unapproachable  height  above 
his  subjects,  —  a  sort  of  god  upon  earth. 
Next  to  him  in  rank  stands  the  "  Tartan,"  or 
commander-in-chief,  who  leads  out  his  armies 
when  he  is  sick  or  otherwise  indisposed,  and 
whose  acts  are  frequently  confounded  with 
those  of  his  master.^  Not  much  below  the 
Tartan  is  the  "  Chief  Eunuch,"  who  has  a 
right  of  near  approach  to  his  master's  person, 
introduces  strangers  to  him,  and  attends  to 
his  comforts.*     The  "  Chief  Cupbearer  "  does 

1  Ancient  Monarchies,  vol.  i.  pp.  243,  244,  and  292. 

2  Ibid.  vol.  ii.  pp.  235,  236. 

8  The  Tartan  occurs  next  to  the  monarchs  in  the  lists  of 
Eponyms.  For  the  confusion  between  his  acts  and  those  of 
the  king,  see  Ancient  Monarchies,  vol.  ii.  p.  101,  note  3. 

4  Ancient  Monarchies,  vol.  i.  pp.  498,  502. 


OF   THE   OLD   TESTAMENT.  163 

not  make  his  appearance  on  the  sculptures, 
which  nowhere  represent  the  king  at  a  ban- 
quet ;  but  the  general  character  of  the  Assyr- 
ian court  would  lead  us  to  expect  such  an 
officer.  It  is  the  ordinary  practice  of  the 
king  to  engage  in  war  year  after  year ;  and 
the  expeditions  which  he  undertakes  he  usu- 
ally conducts  in  person.  The  monarchs  whom 
he  chastises  or  subdues,  he  requires  to  fall 
down  before  his  footstool  and  do  him  service  ; 
while  at  the  same  time  he  lays  upon  them 
some  permanent  burden  in  the  shape  of  a 
fixed  tribute.  He  is,  further,  in  the  habit  of 
cutting  timber  in  the  forests  belonging  to  the 
conquered  nations,  and  transporting  it  to  As- 
syria, to  be  used  in  the  construction  of  his 
palaces.^  The  armies  which  he  leads  out 
seem  rarely  much  to  exceed  200,000  men.^ 

The  magnificence  of  the  Assyrians  is  very 
apparent  in  the  sculptures  and  the  other 
remains.  The  remains  comprise  terra-cotta 
and  alabaster  vases  of  elegant  forms,  gold 
earrings,  glass  bottles,  carved  ornaments  in 
ivory  and  mother-of-pearl,  engraved  gems, 
bells,,  beautiful  bronze  dishes  elaborately 
ornamented  mth  embossed  work,  statuettes, 

1  Ancient  Monarchies,  vol.  i.  pp.  474,  475;  and  vol.  ii.  p 
237,  note  10. 

2  Ibid.  vol.  li.  p.  236,  note  7 


164  HISTORICAL   ILLUSTRATIONS 

enameled  bricks,  necklaces,  combs,  mirrors, 
etc. ;  ^  while  the  sculptures  represent  to  us 
embroidered  garments  of  the  richest  kind,^ 
splendid  head-dresses,  armlets  and  bracelets, 
metal  goblets  in  excellent  taste,  elegant  fur- 
niture, elaborate  horse-trappings,  dagger  han- 
dles exquisitely  chased,  parasols,  fans,  musical 
instruments  of  ten  or  twelve  different  sorts, 
hanging  gardens,  paradises,  pleasure-boats, 
and  numerous  other  indications  of  advanced 
civilization,  refinement,  and  luxury.^  It  is  con- 
cluded with  justice  from  them,  that,  towards 
the  close  of  their  empire,  the  Assyrians  were 
in  all  the  arts  and  appliances  of  life  very 
nearly  on  a  par  with  ourselves. 

A  simikir  comparison  might  be  made  be- 
tween what  we  learn  from  Kings  and  Chroni- 
cles of  the  kingdom  and  people  of  Babylon, 
and  that  picture  of  them  which  may  be  gath- 
ered from  profane  sources.  But  as  Babylon 
was  the  scene  of  the  Captivity,  which  will 
form  the  main  subject  of   the  next  chapter, 

1  See  Mr.  Layard's  Nineveh  and  Babylon,  chaps,  viii.  and 
XXV.  especially. 

2  *  It  was  such  a  "  Babylonish  garment  "  (lit.  "garment  of 
Shinar  "  or  Babylonia),  that  Achan  took  among  the  spoils  of  the 
Canaanites,  and  attempted  to  conceal  (Josh.  vii.  21).  The 
Babylonian  tablet  and  the  Hebrew  scroll  (so  wide  apart  from 
each  other  in  time,  place,  and  mode  of  testimony)  agree  to- 
gether here  in  a  remarkable  manner.  —  H. 

8  Ancient  Monarchies,  vol.  ii.  pp.  365-400,  and  484-590. 


OF   THE    OLD   TESTAMENT.  165 

and  as  the  most  complete  account  wMcli  Scrip- 
ture gives  of  it  is  contained  in  the  pages  of 
Daniel,  the  consideration  of  whose  "  book  " 
we  are  now  about  to  enter  upon,  the  exhibi- 
tion of  such  agreement  as  exists  in  this  matter 
will  be  reserved  for  a  later  portion  of  this 
volume. 


166  HISTORICAL  ILLUSTRATIONS 


CHAPTER  VI. 

DANIEL. 

The  book  of  Daniel  is  almost  as  much  his- 
torical as  prophetical.  In  the  Hebrew  Canon 
Historical  char- its   placc   is   bctwccn   Esthcr   and 

acter  of  the  ■"• 

book  of  Daniel.  Ezra,  two  books,  both  of  which 
are  histories.  One  entire  half  of  it  (chaps,  i.- 
vi.)  is  a  narrative  of  events,  and  is  as  capa- 
ble of  receiving  historical  illustration  as  any- 
other  portion  of  the  Sacred  Volume.  Daniel, 
moreover,  supplies  a  gap  in  the  Biblical  his- 
tory, which  is  not  otherwise  filled  up  by  any- 
sacred  writer.  He  is  the  historian  of  the 
■Captivity,  the  writer  who  alone  furnishes 
any-  series  of  events  for  that  dark  and  dis- 
mal period,  during  which  the  harp  of  Israel 
hung  silently  on  the  trees  that  grew  by  the 
Euphrates.  His  narrative  may  be  said,  in  a 
general  way,  to  intervene  between  Kings  and 
Chronicles,  on  the  one  hand,  and  Ezra  on  the 
other,  or  (more  strictly)  to  fill  out  the  sketch 
which  the  author  of  Chronicles  gives  in  a 
single  verse  of  his  last  chapter,  "  And  them 
that  had  escaped  from  the  sword  carried  he  " 


OF   THE   OLD   TESTAMENT.  167 

(i,  e,  Nebuchadnezzar)  "  away  to  Babylon, 
where  they  were  servants  to  him  and  his  sons 
until  the  reign  of  the  kingdom  of  Persia  " 
(2  Chr.  xxxyi.  20).  We  learn  from  Daniel 
particulars  of  this  servitude. 

The  main  events  related  in  Daniel  are  the 
long  and  glorious  reign  of  Nebuchadnezzar, 
the  great  king  of  Babylon,  who  chief  events 
both  commenced  and  completed  the  ^i**^*^'^  i°  ^*- 
captivity  of  the  Jews  ;  his  elevation  of  Dan- 
iel to  a  position  of  high  authority  in  his  king- 
dom ;  his  treatment  of  the  "  Three  Children," 
Ananias,  Azarias,  and  Misael ;  his  dreams,  his 
terrible  illness,  and  recovery  ;  the  impiety  and 
punishment  of  Belshazzar ;  the  capture  of 
Babylon ;  the  accession  of  "  Darius  the 
Mede,"  and  his  treatment  of  Daniel ;  and 
the  accession,  a  year  or  two  later,  of  "  Cyrus 
the  Persian."  These  events,  it  will  be  ob- 
served, are  partly  of  a  public,  partly  of  a 
private  character.  The  names  and  reigns  of 
kings,  their  acts  and  fate,  the  order  of  their 
succession  and  general  character  of  their  gov- 
ernment, the  transfer  of  empire  from  one  race 
or  nation  to  another,  and  the  like,  are  of  the 
former  kind  ;  the  particular  treatment  of  indi- 
viduals among  their  subjects  is  of  the  latter. 
It  is,  of  course,  only  of  the  former  class  of 
facts  that  we  can  expect  illustrations  from  pro- 


168  HISTORICAL  ILLUSTRATIONS 

fane  history ;  and  to  them,  accordingly,  the  in- 
quiry will  be  confined  in  the  following  pages. 
Daniel  opens  with  some  chronological  state- 
ments which,  at  first  sight,  seems  self-contra- 
chronoiogicai  dictory.  Hc  relates  that,  in  a  cer- 
?hf  ealirchip-  tain  year  of  the  reign  of  Jehoiakim, 
^^is^-J^rof^^  Nebuchadnezzar,  king  of  Babylon, 
Berosus.  ij^eut  up  to  Jcrusalcm,  and  besieged 
it  (i.  1)  ;  that,  the  siege  being  successful,  he 
carried  off  from  the  city  certain  captives, 
among  whom  was  Daniel,  and  delivered  him 
into  the  care  of  his  chief  eunuch,  with  an 
injunction  that  he  should  educate  him  for 
three  years^  and  then  bring  him  into  his  pres- 
ence (i.  3-6)  ;  that  this  was  done,  and  the 
captives  were  admitted  among  the  "  wise 
men  "  (i.  18-20)  ;  and  that  after  this,  in  the 
second  year  of  the  reign  of  Nebuchadnezzar, 
they  were  brought  into  danger  by  a  decree 
which  commanded  that  the  wise  men  should 
be  put  to  death  (ii.  1-13).  We  are  enabled 
to  reconcile  these  statements  by  finding  in 
Berosus  ^  that  the  first  expedition  of  Nebuch- 
adnezzar against  Syria,  and  the  commence- 
ment of  the  Jewish  captivity,  took  place 
towards  the  close  of  the  reign  of  Nabopolassar, 
Nebuchadnezzar's  father,  in  B.  c.  605,  or  pos- 
sibly in  B.  c.  606  ;  between  which  time  and 

i  Ap.  Joseph,  c.  Ap.  i.  19. 


OF   THE   OLD   TESTAMENT.  169 

Nebuchadnezzar's  second  year,  B.  c.  603, 
there  would  be  room  for  the  three  years'  in- 
struction spoken  of ;  more  especially  as  "  three 
years,"  according  to  the  Hebrew  usage,  means 
no  more  than  one  whole  year  and  parts,  how- 
ever small,  of  two  other  years.  Thus,  if 
Daniel  were  taken  to  Babylon  in  the  autumn 
of  B.  c.  605,  and  placed  at  once  under  the 
chief  eunuch,  he  might  have  been  presented 
to  Nebuchadnezzar  as  educated  early  in  B.  c. 
603,  and  before  the  close  of  that  year  have 
run  the  risk  of  destruction,  and  escaped  from 
it.  Nebuchadnezzar's  second  year  would  not 
be  out  till  the  Thoth  of  B.  c.  602,  according 
to  Babylonian  modes  of  reckoning.  The  only 
difficulty  that  remains,  if  it  be  a  difficulty,  is 
that  Nebuchadnezzar  is  called  "  King  of  Bab- 
ylon "  in  Dan.  i.  1,  when  he  was  merely  crown 
prince  and  commander-in-chief  on  behalf  of 
his  father.  But  this  is  a  prolepsis  common  to 
most  writers  of  history .^ 

The  fact  of  the  Jewish  Captivity  commen- 
cing as  early  as  B.  c.  605,  which  is  involved  in 

1  See  Dr.  Pusey's  Lectures  on  Daniel,  p.  400  (3d  ed.)«  Dr. 
Pusey  well  remarks  :  '*  We  should  naturally  say,  '  Queen 
Victoria  was  carefully  educated  by  her  mother,'  or  'the  Em- 
peror Napoleon  passed  some  years  of  his  life  in  England;  '  al- 
though the  education  of  our  Queen  was  concluded  before  her 
accession  to  the  throne,  and  the  Emperor's  residence  here  was 
before  his  accession,  and  while  he  was  in  exile." 


170  HISTORICAL  ILLUSTKATIONS 

what  has  here  been  said,  and  is  important 
other  coafir-     in  connection  with  the  number  of 

mations  of  the  t        /--t         ... 

narrative  from  years  that  the  CaptiYitv  IS  declared 

the  same  pas-      *^  i  •  r» 

sage.  to   have  lasted,  receives   confirma- 

tion from  the  same  passage  of  Berosus,  who 
distinctly  states  that  Nebuchadnezzar  not  only 
at  this  time  "  reduced  Syria,"  but  also  "  car- 
ried Jewish  captives  into  Babylonia,  and 
planted  colonies  of  them  in  various  suitable 
places."  ^  Berosus  also  relates  that  he 
"  adorned  magnificently  the  temple  of  Bel 
from  the  spoils  taken  in  this  war,"  —  a  re- 
mark which  accords  well  with  Daniel's  state- 
ment, that  ''  the  Lord  gave  into  his  hand  .... 
part  of  the  vessels  of  the  house  of  God,  which 
he  carried  into  the  land  of  Shinar  to  the  house 
of  his  god ;  and  he  brought  the  vessels  into  the 
treasure-house  of  his  god  "  (verse  2). 

The  extent,  glory,  and  splendor  of  Nebuch- 
adnezzar's kingdom  are  strongly  stated  by 
General  char-  Daniel  in  liis  sccoud,  third,  and 
buchaduez*-"  fourth  cliaptcrs.  Nebuchadnezzar 
fn  dose°fg^re"'  is  ''  a  king  of  kings "  (ii.  37)  ; 
Sne'hTstorr°  ^^^  has  glvcu  him  *'  a  kingdom, 
BabSan  re-  powcr,  strength,  and  glory  "  (lb.)  ; 
mams.  j^^  j^^^  undcr   him  "princes,  gov- 

ernors, and  captains,  judges,  treasurers,  coun- 
cilors, sheriffs,  and  rulers  of  provinces "  (iii. 

I  Berosus,  1.  s.  c. 


OF   THE   OLD   TESTAMENT.  171 

2);  he  has  "grown,  and  become  strong' 
(iv.  22) ;  his  "  greatness  is  grown,  and  reach- 
eth  unto  heaven,  and  his  dominion  to  the  end 
of  the  earth  "  (lb.).  Walking  in  the  palace 
of  the  kingdom  of  Babylon,  he  exclaims, 
"  Is  not  this  great  Babylon,  which  I  have  built 
for  the  house  of  the  kingdom  by  the  might  of 
my  power,  and  for  the  honor  of  my  majesty  ?  " 
(iv.  30).  In  all  this  we  may  seem  at  first 
sight  to  have  the  language  of  Oriental  hyper- 
bole. But  profane  writers,  and  the  remains 
in  the  country  itself,  agree  in  testifying  to  the 
almost  literal  truth  and  correctness  of  the  en- 
tire portrait.  "  Nebuchadnezzar,"  says  Aby- 
denus,^  "  having  ascended  the  throne,  fortified 
Babylon  with  a  triple  enceinte,  which  he  com- 
pleted in  fifteen  days.  He  made  likewise  the 
Armacales  (^Nahr  malcha^  or  '  Royal  river '), 
a  branch  stream  from  the  Euphrates  ;  and  he 
excavated  above  the  city  of  Sippara  (Sephar- 
vaim)  a  great  reservoir,  forty  farsakhs  in  cir- 
cumference and  twenty  fathoms  deep,  and 
arranged  flood-gates  so  that  by  opening  them 
it  was  possible  to  irrigate  the  entire  plain. 
Moveover,  he  built  quays  along  the  shore  of 
the  Red  Sea,  to  check  the  force  of  the  waves, 
and  founded  there   the   city  of    Teredon,  to 

1  Ap.  Euseb.  PrcBp.  Ev.  ix.  41.    Compare  Euseb.  Chron. 
Can.  i.  10. 


172  HISTORICAL  ILLUSTRATIONS 

repress  tlie  inroads  of  the  Arabs.  And  he 
adorned  his  palace  with  trees  and  shrubs,  con- 
structing what  are  called  '  the  Hanging  Gar 
dens,'   which  the  Greeks  reckon  among   the 

Seven  Wonders  of  the  World He  was 

more  valiant  than  Hercules  ;  he  led  expedi- 
tions into  Africa  and  Iberia,  and,  having  re- 
duced the  inhabitants,  transported  some  of 
them  to  the  eastern  shores  of  the  Euxine." 
•'  He  adorned,"  says  Berosus,^  ''  the  temple 
of  Belus,  and  the  other  temples,  with  the 
spoils  which  he  had  taken  in  war  ;  and  having 
strongly  fortified  the  city,  and  beautified  the 
gates  exceedingly,  he  added  to  his  ancestral 
palace  a  second  palace  in  the  immediate  neigh- 
borhood, very  lofty  and  costly  —  'twere  te- 
dious, perchance,  to  describe  it  at  length, 
wherefore  I  say  no  more  than  this,  that,  vast 
as  was  its  size  and  magnificent  as  was  its  char- 
acter, the  whole  was  begun  and  finished  in 
fifteen  days.  And  he  upreared  in  this  palace, 
a  stone  erection  of  great  height,  to  which  he 
gave  an  appearance  as  nearly  as  possible  like 
that  of  mountains,  and  planted  it  with  trees 
of  various  kinds,  thus  forming  the  far-famed 
Hanging  Garden."  Modern  research  has 
shown  that  Nebucliadnezzar  was  the  greatest 
monarch  that  Babylon,  or  perhaps  the  East 

1  Ap.  Joseph,  c.  Ap.  i.  20. 


OF   THE   OLD   TESTAMENT.  173 

generally,  ever  produced.  He  must  have  pos- 
sessed an  enormous  command  of  human  labor. 
Nine-tenths  of  Babylon  itself,  and  nineteen- 
twentieths  of  all  the  other  ruins  that  in  al- 
most countless  profusion  cover  the  land,  are 
composed  of  bricks  stamped  with  his  name. 
He  appears  to  have  built  or  restored  almost 
every  city  and  temple  in  the  whole  country. ^ 
His  inscriptions  give  an  elaborate  account  of 
the  immense  works  which  he  constructed  in 
and  about  Babylon  itself,  abundantly  illus- 
trating the  boast,  "  Is  not  this  Great  Baby- 
lon, which  I  have  built  ?  "  His  wealth  and  the 
magnificence  of  his  court,  seem  to  have  been 
on  a  par  with  the  number  and  size  of  his 
buildings.  A  lavish  use  of  the  precious  met- 
als characterized  his  architecture. ^  His  pal- 
ace, called  "  The  Wonder  of  Mankind,"  was 
"  with  many  chambers  and  lofty  towers ;  " 
its  pillars  and  beams  were  "  plated  with  cop- 
per ;  "  "  silver  and  gold,  and  precious  stones 
whose  names  were  almost  unknown,"  were 
stored  up  inside  in  a  treasure-house,  as  well 
as  many  other  valuable  objects  which  cannot 
be  distinctly  identified.^ 

1  Ancient  Monarchies,  vol.  iii.  pp.  56,  57. 

2  Ibid.  vol.  ii.  pp.  546-548. 

3  Standard  Inscription  of  Nebuchadnezzar  (given  in  Ancient 
Monarchies,  vol.  iii.  pp.  77-79). 

*  For  a  description  of  the  "  hanging  gardens  "  of  this  mon* 


174  HISTORICAL  ILLUSTRATIONS 

There  are  two  or  three  points  iii  the  his- 
tor}^  of  Nebuchadnezzar's  reign,  as  delivered 
Supposed  to  us  by  Daniel,  to  which  rationalis- 
accuracies"  tic  writcrs  have  objected  as  "  incor- 
1.  "Satraps"    rect   Statements,"  and  which   they 

of  Nebuchad-      ,  -,     -,  i  *•   .  i  i 

nezzar.  have  regarded  as  marks  oi  the  work 

having  been  composed  long  after  the  events 
whereof  it  treats.^  One  of  these  is  the  men- 
tion by  Daniel  of  "  satraps  "  among  the  great 
oJB&cers  of  Nebuchadnezzar  (iii.  2,  3,  27), 
which  is  regarded  as  erroneous,  since  satraps 
were  a  Persian  institution,  and  the  regular 
satrapial  system  dated  from  Darius  Hystaspis. 
Now  here  it  may  be  granted  that  the  term 
which  Daniel  uses,  a  Hebrew  word  corre- 
sponding as  nearly  as  possible  to  the  Persian 
khshatrapa,  "  satrap,"  is  not  likely  to  have 
been  employed  by  the  Babylonians  under  Ne- 
buchadnezzar. But  it  can  scarcely  be  sup- 
posed to  be  improbable  that  the  Babylo- 
nians employed  provincial  governors,^  at  any 
rate  to  some  extent ;    and  this  is  what  the  , 

arch,  see  Smith's  Bibl.  Diet.  vol.  iii.  p.  2087,  Amer.  ed.  The 
object  of  it  was  to  give  him  an  arbor  high  enough  in  the  air 
to  protect  him  against  the  mosquitos.  — H. 

1  Von  Lengerke,  Bas  Buck  Daniel,  Einleitung,  §  13,  p.  Ixiii, ; 
De  Wette,  Einleitung  in  das  alt.  Test.  §  255,  a  [and  later  ed. 
(1869),  De  Wette-Schrader,  §  314,  p.  494]. 

2  Gedaliah  is  such  a  governor  in  Judasa  (2  Kings  xxv.  22); 
and  Berosus  speaks  of  a  ''governor  of  Syria"  under  Nabopo- 
lassar.  He  even  calls  this  governor  a  ''satrap"  (ap.  Joseph, 
c.  Ap.  i.  19). 


OF   THE   OLD  TESTAMENT.  175 

word  "  satrap  "  means,  and  wliat  it  was  calcu- 
lated to  suggest  to  a  Jewish  reader  or  hearer. 
Daniel,  writing  under  Cyrus,  when  the  word 
had  become  familiar  to  the  Jews,^  uses  it  in 
lieu  of  some  Babylonian  term  of  correspond- 
ing signification,  placing  it  at  the  head  of  a 
somewhat  barbarous  list,  to  indicate  clearly 
and  at  once  to  his  readers  the  general  charac- 
ter of  the  many  obscure  terms  by  which  it  is 
followed. 

The  representation  made  in  Daniel  of  the 
four  classes  of  "  wise  men  "  at  Babylon  (ii.  2  ; 
V.  11),  has  been  taxed  with  error  on  ^  classes  oi 
the  wholly  irrelevant  ground  that  "  ^'^^  ™®"-" 
Porphyry,  and  after  him  Eusebius,  divide  the 
Magi  into  three  classes  only.  As  there  is 
every  reason  to  believe  that  the  "  wise  men  " 
of  Babylon  were  wholly  and  entirely  distinct 
from  the  Magi  of  the  Medes  and  later  Per- 
sians, the  argument  adduced  is  absolutely 
without  value. 

But,  it  has  been  urged,'-^  at  any  rate  it  is 
inconceivable,  that  the  "  wise  men,'*  being 
a  hereditary   caste,   and    having  a  3.  Daniel's  ad- 

,-,         1  ,  ,         111  mission  among 

priestly  character,  should  have  con-  them  and  ap- 

,      -,      ,  .  T^        •    1  IT*       pointment    to 

sented   to   receive    Daniel  and  his  be  their  head. 

1  Cyrus  is  said  by  Xenophon  to  have  appointed  satraps  over 
most  parts  of  his  empire  ( Cyrop.  viii.  6,  §  7).  Herodotus  makes 
him  leave  a  satrap  in  Lydia  (i.  153).  According  to  Nicolas  of 
Damascus,  Cambyses,  the  father  of  Cyrus,  was  '*  satrap  of  Per- 
sia," under  the  Medes  (Fr.  6G).  2  De  Wette,  1.  s.  e 


176  HISTORICAL  ILLUSTRATIONS 

companions  among  them.  Still  more  incon- 
ceivable is  it  that  they  should  have  allowed 
him  to  be  placed  over  them  (Dan.  ii.  48). 
And,  further,  it  is  scarcely  compatible  with 
Daniel's  character  for  piety  that  he  should 
have  been  willing  to  be  enrolled  among  such 
a  class,  much  less  have  consented  to  take 
them  under  his  protection.  Objections  of  this 
kind  proceed  mainly  from  a  misconception  of 
the  true  position  and  character  of  the  Babylo- 
nian "  wise  men."  It  is  clear  from  the  pro- 
fane accounts  of  them  which  have  come  down 
to  us,  that  they  were  more  a  learned  than  a 
priestly  caste,  "  corresponding  rather  to  the 
graduates  of  a  university  than  the  clergy  of  an 
establishment."  ^  The  enrollment  of  a  Jewish 
prince  (Dan.  i.  3)  among  them  is  no  more 
strange  than  the  matriculation  of  an  Egyp- 
tian prince  at  Oxford  ;  nor  would  Daniel  more 
compromise  his  principles  by  a  study  of  their 
learning  than  a  Mohammedan  or  a  Hindoo 
does  his  by  attendance  on  the  lectures  of  our 
professors.  Daniel's  elevation  to  the  position  of 
their  chief  may  with  more  reason  be  adduced 
as  a  difficulty ;  but  it  must  be  remembered 
that  in  an  Oriental  despotism  the  monarch 
disposes,  absolutely  at  his  pleasure,  of  all  dig- 
nities, and  that  no  "  consent "  on  the  part  of 
any  of  his  subjects  is  deemed  necessary. 

1  Bampton  Lectures  by  Rawlinson,  for  1859  (Enff.  ed.),  p.  Ifi3- 


OF  THE   OLD   lESTAMENT.  177 

The  strange  malady  which  afflicted  Nebuch- 
adnezzar for  the  space  of  seven  years  (Dan. 
iv.  32), 1  has  been  thought  to  receive  Mysterious 
illustration  from  an  inscription,  in  jJebudiidnez- 
which  occur  a  number  of  negative  ^""protaae  *' 
clauses,  apparently  indicating  a  sus-  '^^"'^^^s- 
pension  for  a  certain  period  of  the  monarch's 
great  works. ^  But  the  inscription  is  too  much 
mutilated  for  the  sense  of  it  to  be  clearly  as- 
certained ;  and  an  explanation  of  its  meaning 
has  been  given,  which  prevents  it  from  having 
any  bearing  of  the  kind  originally  suspected. 
No  stress,  therefore,  can  be  laid  upon  this  doc- 
ment ;  but  still  profane  history  is  not  without 
some  trace  of  the  extraordinary  occurrence. 
Historians  of  Babylon  place  at  about  the  pe- 
riod whereto  it  belongs  the  reign  of  a  queen  to 
whom  are  ascribed  works  which  others  declare 
to  be   Nebuchadnezzar's.^     It   seems  not  un- 

1  *  "He  was  driven  from  man,  and  did  eat  grass  as  oxen,  and 
his  body  was  wet  with  the  dew  of  heaven,  till  his.  hairs  were 
grown  like  eaglets  feather^,  and  his  nails  like  bird's  claws''^ 
(Dan.  iv.  33).  The  malady  is  one  not  unknown  to  physicians, 
and  is  called  '  Lycanthropy. '  The  victim  thinks  himself  a 
beast  and  not  a  man,  walks  on  all  fours,  ceases  to  speak,  and 
rejects  all  ordinary  food.  The  queen,  no  doubt,  exercised  the 
royal  power  during  this  incapacitation  of  the  monarch.  We 
are  to  think  of  him  during  this  time,  not  as  roaming  at  large, 
but  confined  in  the  gardens  of  the  palace.  See  Rawlinson's 
Monarchies  of  the  Ancient  World,  p.  503  (Lond.  1865) H. 

2  Bampton  Lectures,  by  Rawlinson,  for  1859,  p.  166. 

8  Herod,  i.  185.  Compare  Abyden.  ap.  Euseb.  Chron.  Can, 
i.  10. 

12 


178  HISTORICAL  ILLUSTRATIONS 

likely  that  during  the  malady  of  her  husband, 
the  favorite  wife  of  Nebuchadnezzar  may 
have  been  practically  at  the  head  of  affairs, 
and  in  that  case,  works  constructed  at  this 
time  may  have  gone  indifferently  by  her  name 
or  by  his.  Again,  there  was  a  remarkable 
statement  in  the  work  of  the  great  Babylonian 
historian,  that  Nebuchadnezzar  "  fell  into  a 
state  of  infirm  health  "  some  time  before  his 
decease :  ^  and  this  statement  was  enlarged 
upon  by  another  ancient  writer,  who  thus  re- 
lated the  seizure,  last  words,  and  death  of  the 
monarch :  ^  — 

"  After  this,  the  Chaldeans  say,  that  Nebuchad- 
nezzar, having  mounted  to  the  roof  of  his  palace, 
was  seized  with  a  divine  afflatus,  and  broke  into 
speech  as  follows :  ^  I,  Nebuchadnezzar,  foretell  to 
you,  O  Babylonians,  the  calamity  which  is  about  to 
fall  upon  you,  which  Bel,  my  forefather,  and  Queen 
Beltis  are  alike  unable  to  persuade  the  fates  to 
avert.  A  Persian  mule  will  come,  assisted  by  your 
gods,  and  will  bring  slavery  upon  you,  with  his  ac- 
complice, a  Mede,  the  pride  of  the  Assyrians. 
Would  that,  ere  he  lay  this  yoke  upon  my  country- 
men, some  whirlpool  or  flood  might  engulf  him,  and 
make  him  wholly  disappear !  Or  would  that,  pur- 
suing another  course,  he  were  borne  through  the 
wilderness,  where  is  neither  city  nor  track  of  man, 

1  Beros.  ap.  Joseph,  c.  Ap.  i.  20. 

2  Abyd.  ap.  Euseb.  Prcep.  Ev.  ix.  41. 


OF   THE   OLD   TESTAMENT.  179 

but  wild  beasts  have  their  pasture  in  it,  and  birds 
haunt  it,  that  there  he  might  wander  among  the 
rocks  and  torrent-beds  alone !  And  would  that  T, 
ere  these  thoughts  entered  my  mind,  had  closed  my 
life  more  happily ! '  Thus  having  prophesied,  he 
suddenly  disappeared  from  sight." 

This  passage  is  very  remarkable  as  combin- 
ing the  fact  of  a  seizure  with  the  locality  of 
the  palace  roof  (perhaps  implied  in  Dan.  iv. 
29),  with  a  disappearance  from  the  face  of 
men,  and  with  the  exertion  of  a  prophetic 
power  (not  claimed  for  any  other  Babylonian 
monarch),  such  as  we  find  to  have  been  actually 
accorded  to  Nebuchadnezzar,  according  to  the 
narrative  of  Daniel  (chaps,  ii.  and  iv.).  The 
terms  of  the  prophecy  are  also  very  remarka- 
ble, as  containing  a  covert  allusion  to  the  fate 
of  Nebuchadnezzar  himself,  and  as  furnishing 
almost  the  only  notice  in  the  whole  range  of 
profane  history  which  throws  light  upon  the 
position  assigned  by  Daniel  to  "  Darius  the 
Mede." 

From  the  narrative  of  events  belonging  to 
the  reign  of  Nebuchadnezzar,  our  author  makes 
a  sudden  transition  to  the  fatal  Difflcuitiea 
night  when  the  Babylonian  king-  with  the  name 
doni  came  to  an  end,  being  absorbed  Beishazzar. 
into  the  Medo-Persian.  As  he  is  primarily  a 
prophet,  and  only  secondarily  a  historian,  he 


180  HISTORICAL   ILLUSTRATIONS 

is  in  no  way  bound  to  make  his  narrative  con- 
tinuous ;  and  thus  he  does  not  relate  the  death 
of  Nebuchadnezzar,  nor  the  accession  of  his 
son,  nor  the  troubles  that  followed  thereupon, 
but,  omitting  a  period  of  some  five-and-twenty 
years,  proceeds  at  once  from  Nebuchadnezzar's 
recovery  of  his  senses  to  the  closing  scene  of 
Babylonian  history,  the  feast  of  Belshazzar, 
and  the  Persian  capture  of  Babylon.  Until 
a  few  years  since,  this  portion  of  his  narrative 
presented  difficulties  to  the  historical  inquirer 
which  seemed  quite  insoluble.  Profane  histo- 
rians of  unimpeachable  character^  related  that 
the  capture  of  Babylon  by  the  Medo-Persians 
took  place  in  the  reign  of  a  Babylonian  king, 
called  Nabonnedus  (or  Labynetus),  not  of  one 
called  Belshazzar  ;  they  said  that  this  Nabon- 
nedus was  not  of  the  royal  stock  of  Nebuchad- 
nezzar,2  ^q  which,  according  to  Daniel  (v.  11), 
Belshazzar  belonged  ;  they  stated,  moreover, 
that  he  was  absent  from  Babylon  at  the  time 
of  its  capture ;  ^  and  that,  instead  of  being 
slain  in  the  sack  of  the  town,  as  Belshazzar 
was  (Dan.  v.  30),  he  was  made  prisoner  and 
kindly  treated  by  the  conqueror.*     Thus  the 

1  Berosus,  Abydenus,  and  Herodotus. 

2  Abyden.  ap.  Euseb.  Prap.  Ev.  ix.  41;  Beros.  ap.  Joseph. 
C.  Ap.  i.  21. 

3  Beros.  1.  s.  c. 

■*  Ibid.     Compare  Abyden.  1.  s.  c. 


OF   THE   OLD   TESTAMENT.  181 

profane  and  the  sacred  narrative  seemed  to  be 
contradictory  at  all  points ;  and  Rationalists 
were  never  tired  of  urging  that  here  at  least 
the  narrative  of  Scripture  was  plainly  unhis- 
toric  and  untrustworthy. 

A  very  simple  discovery,  made  a  few  years 
ago  in  Lower  Babylon,  has  explained  in  the 
most  satisfactory  way  all  these  ap-  Thesedifficui- 
parent  contradictions.  Nabonnedus,  by\''™nt^ 
the  last  native  king  of  Babylon,  discovery. 
according  to  Berosus,  Herodotus,  and  Ptolemy, 
states  that  his  eldest  son  bore  the  name  of 
Bel-shar-ezer,  and  speaks  of  him  in  a  way 
which  shows  that  he  had  associated  him  in 
the  government.^  Hence  we  learn  that  there 
were  two  kings  of  Babylon  at  the  time  of  the 
last  siege,  Nabonnedus  (or  Labynetus),  the 
father,  and  Belsharezer  (or  Belshazzar),  the 
son.  The  latter  was  intrusted  with  the  com- 
mand within  the  city,  while  the  former  occu- 
pied a  stronghold  in  the  neighborhood;  the 
latter  alone  perished,  the  former  escaped.  It 
is  the  former  only  of  whom  trustworthy  his- 
torians relate  that  he  was  not  of  the  royal 
stock  ;  the  latter  may  have  been,  if  his  father 
took  the  ordinary  precaution  of  marrying  into 
the  deposed  house.     The  fact  that  the  Bab- 

1  On  the  discovery  of  the  cylinder  containing  this  notice,  see 
Athenceum  of  March  1854,  p.  341. 


182  HISTOEIGAL   ILLUSTRATIONS 

ylonian  throne  was  at  this  time  occupied  con- 
jointly by  two  monarchs  is  indicated  in  the 
sacred  narrative  by  a  curious  casual  touch. 
Belshazzar,  anxious  to  obtain  the  interpreta- 
tion of  the  miraculous  "  handwriting  upon  the 
wall,"  proclaims  that  whoever  reads  it  shall 
be  made  "  the  third  ruler  in  the  kingdom  " 
(Dan.  V.  7).  In  every  other  similar  case,^  the 
reward  is  the  elevation  of  the  individual,  who 
does  the  service,  to  the  second  place  in  the 
kingdom,  the  place  next  to  the  king.  The 
only  reason  that  can  be  assigned  for  the  vari- 
ation in  this  instance  is,  that  the  first  and 
second  places  were  both  filled,  and  that  there- 
fore the  highest  assignable  reward  was  the 
third  place. 

With  Daniel's  graphic  description  of  the 
condition  of  things  inside  Babylon  on  the  night 
Daniel's  ac-  ^^  ^^®  capturc,  wc  have  no  profane 
caprurfof*"^  account  that  we  can  compare. .  The 
fimied^b/pro-  accounts  of  the  capture  which  have 
fane  history,  readied  us  come  from  Persian 
sources,  and  describe  mainly  what  went  on 
outside  the  city.  There  are,  however,  some 
striking  points  of  coincidence  between  the 
sacred  and  profane  narratives.  In  both  it  is 
evident  that  the  assault  was  wholly  unexpected, 
—  that  the  capture  came  on  the  inhabitants 

1  Compare  Gen.  xli.  40-45 ;  Esther  x.  3 ;  Dan.  ii.  48,  49. 


OF   THE   OLD   TESTAMENT.  183 

as  a  complete  surprise.  In  both  it  is  noted 
that  at  the  time  of  the  capture  a  grand  festi- 
val was  in  progress.^  In  both  finally,  it  ap- 
pears that  the  time  chosen  for  the  assault  was 
the  night.2  Profane  writers  assign  a  sufficient 
reason  for  this  choice,  since  the  stratagem  by 
which  the  town  was  entered  required  darkness 
to  secure  its  success.^ 

In  the  closing  words  of  Daniel's  fifth  chap- 
ter, and  in  the  narrative  which  follows  in  the 
sixth,    a  real   difficulty   meets   us.  Difficulty  con- 

'  *'  nected  with 

'^Darius  the  Mede "  is  a  personage  ^usthe^ '^*' 
of  whom  profane  history  is  still  ig-  Me^e." 

1  Dan.  V.  1.  Compare  Herod,  i.  191;  Xen.  Cyrop,  vii.  5, 
§15. 

2  Xen.  Cyrop.  vii.  5,  §§  15-33. 

3  Both  Herodotus  and  Xenoplion  make  Cyrus  enter  the  town 
by  the  bed  of  the  Euphrates,  after  drawing  off  the  water  from 
it  artificially.  If  the  sinking  of  the  water  had  been  seen,  the 
river  gates  would  have  been  shut. 

*  Daniel's  singular  abruptness  and  brevity  (Dan.  v.  30)  cer- 
tainly indicate  that  he  consciously  suppresses  much  more  than 
he  says:  "  In  that  night  (of  carousal)  was  Beishazzar  slain." 
We  are  not  told  who  slew  him,  or  why  it  was  by  night,  or  what 
made  the  victory  so  sudden  and  complete.  This  brevity  indi- 
cates a  latent  history  for  us,  with  which  Daniel  and  his  contem- 
poraries must  have  been  well  acquainted.  The  draining  of  the 
Euphrates  and  the  sudden  irruption  of  the  Persians  and  the  imbe- 
cility of  the  drunken  revelers  are  assumed  as  well  known  at 
that  time,  but  must  be  learnt  by  us  from  other  sources.  Prof. 
Kawlinson  has  given  us  a  remarkably  vivid  picture  of  the  cap- 
ture of  Babylon  by  Cyrus,  and  the  attendant  circumstances  in 
his  Monarchies  of  the  Ancient  Easteim  World,  vol.  iii.  pp.  516- 
518.  I  have  inserted  the  passage  in  Smith's  Bibl.  Diet.  vol.  i 
p.  220,  Amer.  ed.  —  H. 


184  HISTORICAL   ILLUSTRATIONS 

norant ;  and  the  ascription  to  liim  by  Daniel 
of  royal  rank  (vi.  6,  etc.),  is  curious  and  sur- 
prising. There  cannot  be  a  doubt  that  the 
real  king  of  Babylon,  from  the  moment  of 
its  capture,  was  Cyrus  the  Persian,  who  is 
made  the  immediate  successor  of  Nabonne- 
dus  (Labynetus)  by  Herodotus,  Berosus,  and 
Ptolemy.^  Darius  the  Mede  can,  therefore, 
have  been  no  more  than  a  viceroy  or  deputy- 
king,  a  ruler  set  up  by  Cyrus,  when  he  had 
effected  the  conquest.  And  thus  much  is 
really  indicated  in  the  Hebrew  text,  where 
the  expressions  translated  "  Darius  the  Median 
took  the  kingdom  "  (v.  31),  and  "  which  was 
made  king  over  the  realm  of  the  Chaldaeans  " 
(ix.  1),  signify  that  the  person  mentioned  was 
set  upon  his  throne  by  another .^  It  was,  how- 
ever, certainly  not  the  general  habit  of  the 
Persians  to  appoint  viceroys  over  provinces ; 
their  practice  was  to  appoint  "  governors  "  or 
'  satraps  ; "  and  though  satraps  were  practi- 
cally a  sort  of  petty  kings,  yet  they  had  not  the 
title  ;  and  it  is  not  likely  that  a  mere  ordinary 
satrap  would  have  been  spoken  of  as  Darius 
the  Mede  is  spoken  of  by  Daniel.^     We  have, 

1  Herod,  i.  188-201;  Beros.  ap.  Joseph,  c.  Ap.  i.  21;  PtoL 
Mag.  Synt. 

2  Prof.  Rawlinson's  Bampton  Lectures  for  1859,  Appendix, 
p.  445  [and  p.  357,  Amer.  ed.] ;  Pusey's  Lectures  on  Daniel^  p 
397. 

3  See  particularly  Dan.  vi.  28. 


OF   THE   OLD   TESTAMENT.  185 

then,  to  ask  if  ^^rofane  history  suggests  any 
explanation  of  the  anomaly,  that  the  individ- 
ual appointed  by  Cyrus  to  govern  Babylonia, 
though  the  Babylonians  knew  that  he  was  a 
mere  satrap,  and  therefore  did  not  enter  his 
name  on  their  royal  lists,  seemed  to  the  Jews 
who  lived  under  him  an  actual  monarch. 

Now  here  the  passage  of  Abydenus,  above 
quoted,^  is  of  importance.  Abydenus  makes 
Nebuchadnezzar  prophesy  that  Bab-  Possible  soiu- 

T  ,         ,  ,    ,         J     1  1         i  *>o»  of  the  dif- 

ylon  should  be  taken  by  two  per-  ficuity. 
sons  —  a  Persian  and  a  Mede  —  in  combina- 
tion (compare  Dan.  v.  28).  And  he  apphes 
to  the  Mede  a  remarkable  epithet,  "  the  pride 
of  the  Assyrians."  A  Mede^  who  was  the 
pride  of  the  Assyrians^  must  almost  necessa- 
rily have  been  a  prince  who  had  ruled  over 
those  two  nations.  Such  a  prince  had  been 
made  prisoner  by  Cyrus,  some  twenty  years 
before  his  capture  of  Babylon ;  ^  and  it  is  in 
accordance  with  what  is  elsewhere  related 
of  him  that  he  should  have  advanced  this 
monarch,  if  he  was  still  alive,  to  the  post  of 
Babylonian  satrap.^  In  this  case,  the  Oriental 
respect  for  regal  rank  would  have  been  likely 
to  show  itself  in  the  assignment  of  the  royal 

1  Supra,  pp.  168,  169.  2  Herod,  i.  129. 

8  See  what  is  related  of  his  treatment  of   Nabonnedus  by 
Berosus  (ap.  Joseph,  c.  Ap.  1.  21). 


186  HISTORICAL   ILLUSTRATIONS 

title  to  one  who  had  formerly  been  a  great 
monarch.  Thus  the  hypothesis  that  "  Darius 
the  Mede  "  is  the  Astyages  of  Herodotus  and 
Ctesias,  which  has  been  maintained  by  many 
critics,^  solves  the  chief  difficulties  of  Daniel's 
narrative,^  while  it  harmonizes  with  the  ex- 
pression in  Abydenus. 

To  this  it  may  be  added,  that  profane  his- 
tory speaks  distinctly  of  a  King  Darius,  more 
Profane  testi-    aucicnt  than  the  son  of  Hystaspes,^ 

mony  to  an  -  ,  t  i 

early  Darius,  a  mouarcli  who,  accorclmg  to  some, 
was  the  first  to  introduce  into  Western  Asia 
the  silver  coin  known  as  the  daric,  which  took 
its  name  from  him.  This  Darius  may  have 
been  "  Darius  Medus,"  since  we  have  nowhere 
any  account  of  any  other  Darius  "  more  an- 
cient than  the  son  of  Hystaspes." 

In  the  short  narrative  which  belongs  in 
Daniel  to  the  reign  of  this  Median  prince, 
Daniel's  nar-  while  tlicro  are  a  certain  number 
^entVunder  ^f  poiuts  whcrcou  profauc  history 
?iHd"acco^rds  which  is  scauty  with  respect  to  tha 
^^nntlTf^  internal  organization  of  a  Persian 
JJ-actiS^nd  province,  sheds  no  light,  there  occur 
Ideas.  several  which  harmonize  completely 

with  what   we  know  of  Medo-Persian  ideas 

1  As  Syncellus,  Jackson,  Marsham,  and  Winer. 

2  See  Bampton  Lectures,  by  Prof.  Rawlinson,  fa:  1859,  Ap- 
pendix, p.  445  [and  p.  357,  Amer.  ed.]. 

3  Harpocration,  ad  voc.  AapeiKos. 


OF   THE   OLD   TESTAMENT.  18T 

and  practices  from  profane  sources.  For  in- 
stance, the  predominant  legal  idea  in  the  ac- 
count given  of  Daniel's  exposure  to  the  lions 
is  the  irrevocability  of  a  royal  edict,  —  the 
settled  law  among  the  Medes  and  Persians, 
"  that  no  decree  nor  statute  which  the  king 
establisheth  may  be  changed  "  (Dan.  vi.  15). 
Now,  in  this  two  principles  are  involved : 
one,  the  existence  of  a  settled  law,  or  rule,  by 
which  the  king  himself,  theoretically  at  any 
rate,  is  bound,  and  which  he  cannot  alter ; 
the  other,  the  inclusion  under  this  law,  or 
rule,  of  the  irrevocability  of  a  royal  decree  or 
promise.  Both  of  these  principles  are  recog- 
nized as  Medo-Persic  by  profane  writers.  We 
are  told  that  Cambyses,  one  of  the  most  des- 
potic of  the  Persian  monarchs,  when  he  wished 
to  contract  an  incestuous  marriage,  applied  to 
the  crown  lawyers  to  know  if  they  could  find 
a  law  to  justify  him  in  indulging  his  inclina- 
tion.^  And  we  find  Xerxes,  the  son  of  Darius 
Hystaspis,  brought  into  almost  exactly  the 
same  dilemma  as  "  Darius  the  Mede,"  bound 
by  having  passed  his  word  and  anxious  to  re- 
tract it,  but  unable  to  do  so  on  account  of  the 
law,  and  therefore  compelled  to  allow  the  per- 
petration of  cruelties  whereof  he  entirely  dis- 
approved.2      Again,   it    accords   with    Medo- 

1  Herod,  iii.  31.  2  ibid.  ix.  109-111. 


188  HISTORICAL   ILLUSTRATIONS 

Persic  ideas  that  the  mode  of  capital  punish- 
ment in  Babylonia,  which,  under  the  native 
monarchs,  had  been  burning  in  a  furnace 
(Dan.  iii.  6),  should  under  the  new  regime 
have  been  changed  to  an  exposure  to  wild 
beasts ;  since  the  religious  notions  of  the 
Medo-Persians  forbade  the  pollution  of  fire 
by  contact  with  a  corpse,^  while  they  allowed 
and  approved  the  devouring  of  human  bodies 
by  animals.2  Thirdly,  the  inclusion  of  the 
guiltless  wives  and  children  of  criminals  in 
their  punishment,  which  is  seen  to  have  been 
the  established  practice  under  Darius  the 
Mede,  by  Dan.  vi.  24,  appears  frequently  in 
Persian  history  as  part  of  the  ordinary  admin- 
istration of  the  criminal  law  under  the  Achae- 
menian  kings.^  Even  such  a  little  point  as 
the  habit  of  a  Median  monarch  to  have  music 
played  to  him  at  his  nightly  meal,  which  is 
implied  in  Dan.  vi.  JL8,  is  capable  of  illustra- 
tion from  the  profane  accounts  that  have  come 
down  to  us  of  the  manners  of  the  Median 
court.*  The  tone,  moreover,  of  the  decree, 
ascribed  to  Darius,  in  Dan.  vi.  26,  27,  is  com- 

1  Herod,  iii.  16 ;  Nic.  Damasc.  Fr.  68. 

2  Zendavesta,  Farg.  v.  to  Farg.  viii. ;  Herod,  i.  140 ;  Strab. 
XV.  3,  §  20. 

3  Herod,  iii.  119;    Ctes.  Exc.  Pers.  §   56;    Plutarch,   Vit. 
Artax.  c.  2. 

4  See  Ancient  Monarchies,  vol.  ii.  p.  423. 


OF   THE   OLD   TESTAMENT.  189 

pletely  harmonious  with  Medo-Persic  ideas,  its 
basis  being  the  identification  of  the  Jehovah 
of  the  Jews  with  the  Zoroastrian  Ormazd, 
the  one  supreme'  God  of  the  Medo-Persic 
people. 

There  is,  further,  a  noticeable  harmony  be- 
tween profane  chronology  and  that  account  of 
the  lapse  of  time  which  may  be  Harmony  be- 
gathered  from  the  book  of  Daniel,  notes  of  time 
The  book  itself  is  remarkably  de-  chrouo°iot7. 
void  of  formal  chronological  statements,  all 
the  notes  of  time  which  occur  in  it  being 
incidental,  and,  so  to  speak,  casual.  We 
find,  however,  from  the  first  chapter  (ver. 
1),  that  the  Captivity  commenced  in  the 
*'  third  year  of  king  Jehoiakim ; "  and  we 
gather  from  ch.  ix.  2-19,  that  in  the  first 
year  of  Darius  the  Mede  the  seventy  years 
which  the  Captivity  was  to  last,  according  to 
Jeremiah  (xxv.  11,  12),  had  nearly,  but  not 
quite  run  out.  Now  it  appears  from  the 
Second  Book  of  Kings  (xxiii.  36  ;  xxiv.  12), 
that  Jehoiakim's  third  year  preceded  by  a 
single  year  the  accession  of  Nebuchadnezzar  ; 
and  from  that  time  to  the  capture  of  Babylon 
by  Cyrus,  on  which  followed  Darius  the 
Mede's  reign,  was  a  period  (according  to 
Berosus  and  Ptolemy  i)  of  sixty-seven  years. 

1  See  the  "  Canon  "  of  Ptolemy  ;  and  compare   Beros.  ap. 
Joseph,  c.  Ap.  i.  21. 


190  HISTOEICAL   ILLUSTRATIONS 

It  would  thus  be  in  the  sixty-eighth  year  of 
the  Captivity  that  Daniel,  having  "  under- 
stood by  books  the  number  of  the  years 
whereof  the  word  of  the  Lord  came  to  Jere- 
miah the  prophet,"  sought  unto  the  Lord 
"  with  fasting  and  sackcloth  and  ashes,"  and 
besought  Him  to  "  turn  away  his  fury  and 
anger  from  Jerusalem "  (Dan.  ix.  16),  and 
"  cause  his  face  to  shine  upon  his  sanctuary  " 
(lb.  17),  and  "  do  and  defer  not"  (lb.  19). 
Such  a  near  .approach  of  the  termination  of 
the  prophetical  period  is  exactly  what  the 
preface  to  Daniel's  prayer  (verse  2),  and  the 
intensity  of  the  prayer  suggest,  or  (perhaps  it 
may  be  said)  imply 


OF  THE  OLD  TESTAMENT.  191 


CHAPTER  VII. 

EZEA,  NEHEMIAH,   AND  ESTHER. 

In  Ezra,  Nehemiah,  and  Esther,  we  have 
the  history  of  the  Jews  for  the  space  of  a  little 
more   than    a   century   after   their  character  of 

,         ^  .    .  „  the  history  in 

return  from  the  Captivity, — from  these  books. 

^  ^  '  Points  in  them 

about  B.  c.  538  to  434.     The  posi-  whichadmitof 

,       .  .      ,  profane    lUus- 

tion  of  the  people  is  entirely  new.  tration. 
No  longer  independent,  no  longer  ruled  by 
their  native  kings  they  form  an  integral  por- 
tion of  the  great  Persian  Empire,  the  em- 
pire founded  by  Cyrus,  and  established  by  his 
successors  over  the  whole  of  the  vast  tract 
lying  between  the  river  Sutlej  and  the  African 
desert.  Judaea  is  a  sort  of  sub-satrapy  of 
Syria,  ruled,  indeed,  by  its  own  special  gov- 
ernor, but  more  or  less  under  the  supervision 
of  the  Syrian  satrap,  or  "  governor  of  the 
tract  across  the  river  "  (Ezra  v.  3).  Its  civil 
history,  so  far  as  it  can  be  said  to  have  one, 
consists  in  the  treatment  of  its  people  by  the 
several  monarchs  who  occupy  the  Persian 
throne,  and  in  the  contentions  which  it  carries 
on  with  neighboring  tribes,  who  exhibit  to- 


192  HISTORICAL   ILLUSTRATIONS 

wards  it  a  marked  hostility.  There  is  not 
much  in  the  narrative  that  is  of  a  nature  to 
receive  illustration  from  profane  sources.  The 
position  of  the  people  is  too  humble,  their 
proceedings  are  of  two  little  importance, 
to  attract  the  attention  of  the  historical  in- 
quirer, or  to  be  regarded  as  deserving  of  rec- 
ord by  the  historiographer.  The  points  of 
contact  with  profane  history  are  almost  limited 
to  two,  —  the  succession  and  character  of  the 
Persian  kings,  and  the  organization  of  their 
court  and  kingdom. 

The  succession  of  the  Persian  kings  is  given 
in  Ezra  as  follows ;  Cyrus,  Ahasuerus,  Ar- 
succession  of  taxcrxcs,  Darius,  Artaxerxes  ^ ;  but 
wn^*SS^tiy  ^^  ^^  ^^^  apparent  whether  this 
given.  succession  is  strictly  continuous,  or 

whether  there  are  any  omissions  in  it.  Pro- 
fane authorities  tell  us  that  the  actual  kings  in 
their  complete  order  were,  Cyrus,  Cambyses, 
Smerdis,  Darius,  Xerxes,  Artaxerxes,  etc.  It 
is  evident,  on  a  comparison  of  these  two  lists, 
that  that  in  Ezra  is  defective  by  the  omission 
of  Xerxes  ;  but  that  otherwise  it  corresponds 
to  the  list  of  profane  historians,  with  the  ex- 
ception that  two  of  the  monarchs  —  the  second 
and  the  third  —  are  called  by  other  names. 
That  royal   personages   among  the   Persians 

1  See  Ezra  ch.  iv.  5,  6,  7,  24  ;  and  ch.  vii.  1. 


OF   THE    OLD    TESTAMENT.  193 

had  sometimes  more  names  than  one  appears 
sufficiently  from  statements  in  the  Greek  his- 
torians. The  Smerdis  of  Herodotus  is  the 
Tanyoxarces  of  Ctesias.  Darius  11.  was, 
before  his  accession  to  the  throne,  called 
Ochus.^  The  original  name  of  Artaxerxes 
Mnemon  was  Arsaces.^  It  would  seem  that 
Cambyses  must  have  been  known  to  some  of 
his  subjects  as  Ahasuerus  (  =  Xerxes),  and 
Smerdis  as  Artaxerxes,  though  we  have  no 
other  evidence  of  the  fact  than  that  which 
Ezra  furnishes.  With  regard  to  the  omission 
of  Xerxes  from  the  list  in  Ezra,  it  results  from 
the  occurrence  (which  is  very  evident)  of  a 
gap  between  the  first  and  the  second  part  of 
the  work,  no  events  being  related  between  the 
passover  in  the  sixth  year  of  Darius  (B.  c. 
515),  and  the  journey  of  Ezra  from  Babylon 
to  Jerusalem,  in  the  seventh  year  of  Artax- 
erxes (b.  c.  458).  The  omission  of  Xerxes 
by  Ezra  is,  happily,  compensated  for  by  the 
narrative  of  Esther,  which  belongs  wholly  to 
his  reign,  and  which,  having  its  scene  laid  at 
Susa,  is  very  much  fuller  of  details  with 
respect  to  Persian  manners  than  the  other 
books  belonging  to  this  period. 

The  character  of  Cyrus,  and  his  actions,  as 

1  Ctesias,  Excerpt.  Persic.  §  49. 

2  Ibid.  §  57  ;  Plutarch,  Vit.  Artaxerx.  §  2. 

n 


194  HISTOKICAL   ILLUSTRATIONS 

indicated  by  Ezra  (and  by  Daniel),  are  in 
Character  and  remarkable     agreement    with     the 

actions  of  Cy-  ..  i  •    i  j«    i  •         • 

rus  agree  with  notices  wDich  we  possess  01  mm  m 
JJun^tTof  him.  profane  authors.  Of  all  the  Per- 
sian monarchs,  he  was  the  one  most  distin- 
guished for  mildness  and  clemency  ;  ^  the  one 
to  whom  the  sufferings  of  a  captive  nation, 
torn  violently  from  its  home  and  subjected  to 
seventy  years  of  grievous  oppression,  would 
most  forcibly  have  appealed.  Again,  he  was 
an  earnest  Zoroastrian,^  a  worshipper  of  the 
"  Great  God,  Ormazd,"  the  special,  if  not  the 
sole  object  of  adoration  among  the  ancient 
Persians  ;  he  was  a  hater  of  idolatry,  and  of 
the  shameless  rites  which  accompanied  it,  and 
he  would  naturally  sympathize  with  such  a 
people  as  the  Jews,  —  a  people  whose  relig- 
ious views  bore  so  great  a  resemblance  to  his 
own.  Thus  the  restoration  of  the  Jews  by 
Cyrus,  though  an  act  almost  without  a  paral- 
lel in  the  history  of  the  world,  was  only  natu- 
ral under  the  circumstances ;  and  the  narra- 
tive of  it,  which  Ezra  gives  us,  is  in  harmony 
at  once  with  the  other  Scriptural  notices  of 
the    monarch ,3  and  with  profane  accounts  of 

1  Xenophon  calls  him  ^vx^v  'ji'KavOpMnoTaTov,  "  of  a  most  hii- 
mane  disposition  "  {Cyrop.  i.  2,  §  1).  Berosus,  Herodotus,  and 
Ctesias  all  remark  upon  his  clemency. 

2  Xen.  Cyrop.  viii.  7,  §  3;  Nic.  Dam.  Fr.  66. 

3  The  immediate  restoration,  in  his^rs^year  (Ez-a  i.  1),  and 


OF   THE   OLD   TESTAMENT.  195 

him.  The  edicts  which  he  issued  on  the  oc- 
casion (Ezra  i.  2-4  and  vi.  3-5)  are  aUke 
suitable  to  his  rehgious  belief  and  to  the  gen- 
erosity of  his  character.  His  acknowledgment 
of  one  "  Lord  God  of  Heaven  "  (Ezra  i.  2)  ; 
his  identification  of  this  God  with- the  Jeho- 
vah of  the  Jews  ;  and  his  pious  confession  that 
he  has  received  all  the  kingdoms  over  which 
he  rules  from  this  source,  breathe  the  spirit  of 
the  old  Persian  religion,^  of  which  Cyrus  was 
a  sincere  votary  ;  while  the  delivery  of  the 
golden  vessels  from  out  of  the  treasury  (i.  7- 
11 ;  vi.  5)  ;  the  allowance  of  the  whole 
expense  of  rebuilding  the  Temple  out  of  the 
royal  revenue  (vi.  4) ;  and  the  general  direc- 
tions to  all  Persian  subjects  to  "  help  with 
silver  and  with  gold,  and  with  goods,  and 
with  beasts  "  (i.  4),  accord  well  with  the  mu- 
nificence which  is  said  to  have  been  one  of 
his  leading  characteristics.^     It  may  be  added 


the  words,  "  the  Lord  God  of  Heaven  has  charged  me  to  build 
Him  a  house  at  Jerusalem,"  are  well  explained  by  the  circum- 
stances related  in  Dan.  v.  and  by  Isaiah  xliv.  28.  The  fame  of 
the  "handwriting  upon  the  wall,"  and  the  high  dignity  to  which 
Daniel  had  been  raised  (Dan.  v.  29),  would  necessarily  bring 
him  iato  personal  contact  with  Cyrus  upon  the  capture  of  the 
city;  and  he  would  then  naturally  communicate  to  Cyrus  the 
prophecy  of  Isaiah. 

1  Ancient  Monarchies^  by  Prof.  Rawlinson,  vol.  iii.  pp.  347- 
357. 

2  Xen.  Cyrop.  i.  3,  §  7;  4,  §§  11  and  26,  etc. 


196  HISTORICAL  ILLUSTRATIONS 

that  the  political  liberality  which  is  apparent 
in  the  assignment  of  so  important  a  govern- 
ment as  that  of  Babylonia  to  a  Mede^  is  also 
characteristic  of  this  king,  who  appointed  two 
Medes  in  succession  to  govern  the  rich  sa- 
trapy of  Lydia,^  and  (according  to  one  ac- 
count 2)  assigned  the  government  of  Carmania 
to  a  Babylonian. 

The  discovery  of  the  original  decree  of  Cy- 
rus, early  in  the  reign  of  Darius  Hystaspis, 
Discovery  of     "at  Achmctha    (or   Ecbatana),  in 

his  decree  at         ,■,  -.  j  i      j    •      •       ii  •  r 

Ecbatana  thc  palacc  that  IS  m  the  province  of 
SToTresid-  the  Mcdcs  "  (vi.  2),  is  one  of  those 
"*^  ^™'  little  points  of  agreement  between 
the  sacred  and  the  profane  which  are  impor- 
tant because  their  very  minuteness  is  an  indi- 
cation that  they  are  purely  casual  and  unin- 
tentional. When  Ezra  wrote,  the  Persian 
kings  resided  usually  at  Susa,  or  at  Babylon, 
occasionally  visiting,  in  the  summer  time, 
Ecbatana  or  Persepolis.  Susa  and  Babylon, 
as  the  ordinary  stations  of  the  court,  were 
the  places  at  which  the  archives  were  laid 
up.  But  Cyrus  seems  to  have  held  his  court 
permanently  at  Echatana^^  and  consequently 
it  was  there  that  he  kept  his  archives,  and 

1  Herod,  i.  156  and  162. 

2  Abyden.  ap.  Euseb.  Chron.  Can.  i.  10. 
8  Herod,  i.  153 ;  Ctes.  Exc.  Pers.  §§  2-4. 


OF    THE    OLD   TESTAMENT.  197 

there  that  his  decree  was  found.  Ezra,  writ- 
ing under  Artaxerxes,  nearly  a  century  later, 
is  not  likely  to  have  known  the  habits  of 
Cyrus  ;  but  he  relates  a  fact  which  is  in  exact 
harmony  with  them. 

With  regard  to  Cambyses,  the  successor  of 
Cyrus,  and  the  usurper  who  reigned  under  the 
name  of  Smerdis,  the  book  of  Ezra  Reversal  of  the 

tells     us     but     little.         All     that     we    ruslTy  the  next 

learn  concerning  them  is,  that  both  in°harmony  ^' 

T    'J.    J     U        J.1,  with  his  relig- 

princes  were  solicited  by  the  ene-  ious  position. 
mies  of  the  Jews  to  hinder  the  rebuilding  of 
Jerusalem,  and  that  while  Cambyses  took  no 
action  upon  the  communication  made  to  him, 
Smerdis,  on  the  contrary,  replied  by  a  letter, 
in  which  he  directly  forbade  the  continuation 
of  the  work  commenced  under  Cyrus  and  con- 
tinued under  his  son  and  successor.^  This  de- 
parture from  the  policy  of  the  two  previous 
kings  is  rendered  intelligible  by  the  peculiar 
position  of  the  monarch,  as  declared  to  us  by 
profane  writers,^  and  more  fully  explained  in 
the  great  inscription  of  Darius  at  Behistun.^ 
Smerdis  was  a  Magian,  attached  to  a  worship 
directly  antagonistic  to  the  faith  of  Zoroaster, 
and  bent  on  reversing  the  policy  of  his  two 

1  See  Ezra  iv.  6-24. 

2  Herod,  iii.  61;  Ctes.  Exc,  Pers.  §  10;  Justin,  i.  9. 
8  Col.  i.  par.  11-14. 


198  HISTORICAL   ILLUSTRATIONS 

predecessors  in  matters  of  religion.  The  fact 
that  Cyrus  and  CamByses  sympathized  with 
the  Jews  in  respect  of  their  belief,  and  allowed 
the  restoration  of  their  Temple  and  capital, 
would  be  sufficient  reason  to  him  for  prohibit- 
ing it.  Hence  the  severe  edict.which  he  is- 
sued (Ezra  iv.  17—22),  in  which  it  is  worthy 
of  remark  that  none  of  that  faith  in  a  Supreme 
God  appears  which  characterizes  the  decrees 
of  Cyrus.^ 

Of  Darius,  the  next  king  to  Smerdis,  we 
have  an  interesting  notice  in  the  fifth  and 
Relations  of  sixth  chaptcrs  of  Ezra.  It  appears 
Sre"j"ewr,*l^nd  that  the  Jews  no  sooner  felt  that 
S!8uitebie  this  king  was  safely  seated  upon 
teAidc^T"  the  throne,  than,  regarding  the 
cumstances.  ^^-^^  ^f  Smcrdis  as  null  and  void, 
they  resumed  the  work,  from  which  they  had 
been  compelled  to  desist,  and  pressed  it  for- 
ward with  increased  ardor,  the  two  prophets, 
Zechariah  and  Haggai,  helping  them  (Ezra 
V.  2),  This  bold  course  is  explained  by  the 
known  Zoroastrian  zeal  of  Darius,  who  tells 
us  in  his  great  inscription  that  he  commenced 
his  reign  by  reversing  the  religious  policy 
of   his    predecessor,  '^  rebuilding  the  temples 

1  The  Magians  worshipped  the  elements,  earth,  air,  water, 
and  fire.  Their  creed  was  Pantheism,  which  is  a  form  of 
Atheism. 


OF   THE   OLD   TESTAMENT.  199 

which  the  Magian  had  destroyed,  and  restor- 
ing the  rehgious  chants  and  the  worship  which 
he  had  aboHshed."  ^  Tlie  Jews  would  natu- 
rally feel  assured  that  they  might  count  upon 
his  sympathy,  and  so  would  resume  the  work 
without  waiting  for  express  warrant.  Their 
enemies,  however,  might  naturally  be  unwill- 
ing to  relinquish  the  advantage  which  they  had 
gained,  until  they  had  at  least  made  an  effort 
to  retain  it.  Accordingly  they  addressed  a 
long  petition  to  the  new  monarch,  informing 
him  of  the  steps  taken  by  the  Jews,  mention- 
ing the  ground  on  which  they  justified  their 
conduct,  namely,  the  decree  of  Cyrus,  and  sug- 
gesting that  search  should  be  made  at  Baby- 
lon^ to  see  whether  the  archives  contained  any 
such  decree  or  no  (Ezra  v.  6-17).  They  may 
have  suspected  that  Smerdis  would  have  de- 
stroyed any  such  document  while  he  had  the 
archives  in  his  power,  and  have  hoped  that  it 
would  be  impossible  to  produce  it.  The  de- 
cree, however,  was  found  at  Ecbatana  (vi.  2)  ; 
and  Darius  at  once  put  forth  an  edict,  reciting 
it,  and  requiring  the  Syrian  satrap  and  his  sub- 
ordinates to  lend  the  Jews  every  help,  instead 
of  hindering  them.  The  terms  of  the  edict  suit 
in  every  way  the  character  and  circumstances 
of  Darius.     He  speaks  of  the  Jewish  temple 

1  Behist.  Inscr.  col.  i.  par.  14,  §  5  and  §  6. 


200  HISTORICAL   ILLUSTRATIONS 

as  "  the  house  of  God  "  (verses  7  and  8), 
and  of  Jehovah  as  "  the  God  of  Heaven " 
(verses  9  and  10)  ;  he  approves,  as  a  Zoroas- 
trian  would,i  of  the  offering  of  sacrifices  to 
the  Supreme  Being  (lb.)  ;  he  vahies  the 
prayers  which  he  feels  assured  the  Jews  will 
address  to  Jehovah  on  his  behalf  (verse  10)  ; 
and  he  invokes  a  curse  ^  on  those  who  shall  in- 
jure or  destroy  the  sacred  edifice  in  which 
such  prayers  will  be  offered  (verse  12).  Fur- 
ther, he  implies  that  he  has  already  "  sons  " 
(verse  10),  though  he  has  but  just  ascended 
the  throne,  a  fact  which  is  confirmed  by  He- 
rodotus ;  ^  he  speaks  of  the  "  tribute  "  (verse 
8),  which  (according  to  the  same  author  *)  he 
was  the  first  to  impose  on  the  provinces  ;  and 
he  threatens  the  disobedient  with  that  pun- 
ishment of  impaling  (verse  11)  with  which  he 
most  commonly  punished  offenders.^ 

Of  Xerxes,  the  son  and  successor  of  Darius, 
the  book  of  Ezra  tells  us  nothing  ;  but  it  is 
now  generally  allowed  by  critics  ^  that  he  is 

1  Herod,  i.  132;  Ancient  Monarchies,  vol.  iii.  pp.  349-351. 

2  Compare  the  curses  invoked  by  this  king  on  those  who 
should  injure  his  inscriptions  {Behist.  Jnscr.  col.  iv.  par.  17). 

8  Herod,  vii.  2. 

4  Ibid.  iii.  89. 

5  Behist.  Inscr.  col.  ii.  par.  13,  §  7;  par.  14,  §  16;  col.  iii. 
par.  8,  §  2,  etc.     Herod,  iii.  159. 

6  As  De  Wette,  Bertheau,  Gesenius,  Haveruick,  Dean  Mil- 
man,  Bp.  Cotton,  etc. 


OF   THE    OLD   TESTAMENT.  201 

the  monarcli  at  whose  court  is  laid  the  scene 
of  the  book  of  Esther.     Assuminej  Portrait  of 

Y     Xerxes  in  the 

this  identity  (which  follows  both  book  of  Esther 
from  the  name  assigned  him,    and  cordance  with 

.  .  profane  ac- 

from  the  notes  of  time  contained  counts  of  him. 
in  Esther),  we  may  remark  that  the  char- 
acter of  the  monarch,  so  graphically  placed 
before  us  by  the  sacred  historian,  bears  the 
closest  possible  resemblance  to  that  which  is 
ascribed  by  the  classical  writers  to  the  cele- 
brated son  of  Darius.  "  Proud,  self-willed, 
amorous,  careless  of  contravening  Persian  cus- 
toms ;  reckless  of  human  life,  yet  not  actually 
bloodthirsty  ;  impetuous,  facile,  changeable,  — 
the  Ahasuerus  of  Esther  corresponds  in  all  re- 
spects to  the  Greek  portraiture  of  Xerxes  ;  "  ^ 
which  is  not  (be  it  observed)  the  mere  pic- 
ture of  an  Oriental  despot,  but  has  various 
marked  peculiarities  that  distinctly  individu- 
alize it.  And  so  with  respect  to  his  actions. 
In  the  third  year  of  Ahasuerus  was  held  a 
great  feast  and  assembly  in  Shushan,  the  pal- 
ace (Esth.  i.  3).  In  the  third  year  of  Xerxes 
was  held  an  assembly  at  Susa,  to  arrange  the 
Grecian  war.i     jj^  ^]^q  seventh  year  of  Ahas- 

1  The  Hebrew  Ahashverosh  is  the  exact  Semitic  equivalent 
of  the  Persian  Khshayaishd,  which  the  Greeks  rendered  by 
Xerxes. 

2  Prof.  Kawlinson's  Bampton  Lectures  for  1859,  p.  186. 


202  HISTORICAL  ILLUSTRATIONS 

aerus  "  fair  young  virgins  were  sought  for 
nim,"  and  he  replaced  Vashti  by  marrying 
Esther  (lb.  ii.  16).  In  the  seventh  year  of 
Xerxes,  he  returned  defeated  from  Greece, 
and  consoled  himself  for  his  disasters  by  the 
pleasures  of  the  seraglio.^  The  monarch  who 
scourged  the  sea,  and  offered  human  victims 
in  sacrifice,^  might  well  outrage  Persian  feel- 
ing by  requiring  Vashti  to  present  herself 
unveiled  before  his  courtiers  (lb.  i.  10-12). 
The  prince,  who  gave  a  sister-in-law,  whom 
he  had  professed  to  love,  into  the  power  of  a 
favorite  Avife  to  torture  and  mutilate,*  would 
naturally  not  shrink  from  handing  over  a 
tribe  for  which  he  had  no  regard,  to  the  ten- 
der mercies  of  a  favorite  minister.  One  so 
changeable  and  so  much  under  female  influ- 
ence as  Xerxes  always  showed  himself,  might 
readil}'-,  under  the  circumstances  related,  alter 
his  mind,  and  resolve  to  save  the  race  which 
he  had  recently  given  over  to  destruction. 
And  the  same  almost  superstitious  regard  for 
his  word,  when  once  it  had  been  passed,  which 
we  find  recorded  of  him  in  Herodotus,^  would 
prevent  him  from  simply  revoking  his  edi3t, 
and  determine  him  to  meet  the  difficulty  in 

1  Herod,  vii.  8.  2  ibid.  vii.  35,  114. 

8  Ibid.  ix.  108,  109.  *  Ibid.  ix.  111. 

6  Ibid.  ix.  109. 


OF   THE  OLD   TESTAMENT.  203 

another  way.  To  the  king  who  had  lost  one 
or  two  millions  of  soldiers  in  Greece,  it  might 
not  seem  very  terrible  to  allow  fighting  for 
one  or  two  days  in  most  of  the  great  cities 
of  the  Empire.  Finally  we  can  well  under- 
stand that,  after  the  exhaustion  of  the  treas- 
ury by  the  Greek  war.  King  Ahasuerus  would 
have  had  to  lay  an  increased  tribute  upon  the 
land  and  upon  the  isles  of  the  sea  (lb.  x.  1), 
Cyprus,  Aradus,  the  island  of  Tyre,  etc. 

Of  Artaxerxes,  the  son  and  successor  of 
Xerxes,  we  have  two  Biblical  notices,  —  one  in 
Ezra  (vii.  7-26),  and  the  other  in  character  of 
Nehemiah  (i.  and  ii.).     We  learn  drawn  hy  ez- 

ra  and  Nehe- 

irom  the  lormer  of  these  two  pas-   miah,  agrees 

1     T^       •  with  that 

sao^es,  that,  like  Cyrus  and  Darius,   given  by 

Till        1  -1  •  CXI  1       Plutarch  and 

he  held  the  identity  or  Jehovah  Diodorus. 
with  his  own  supreme  God,  Ormazd  (verses 
12,  21,  23),  and  that  he  approved  of  the  Jew- 
ish worship,  which  he  supported  by  offerings 
(verse  15),  by  grants  from  the  state  and  the 
provincial  treasuries  (verses  20-22),  and  by 
a  threat  of  severe  pains  and  penalties  (verse 
26)  against  its  impugners.  The  passage  of 
Nehemiah  throws  light  upon  his  personal 
character,  which  appears  by  the  picture  drawn 
to  have  been  mild  and  amiable.  The  Orien- 
tal  monarch,  who  would  notice  the  sad  expres- 
sion  on   the   countenance    of    an   attendant, 


204  HISTORICAL   ILLUSTRATIONS 

make  kind  inquiry  into  its  cause,  and  grant 
readily  the  request,  which,  while  it  incon- 
venienced himself,  would  bring  back  a  cheer- 
ful look  to  his  servant's  face  (Neh.  ii.  1-8), 
must  have  been  unlike  the  ordinary  run  of 
despots,  and  cannot  possibly  have  been  devoid 
of  kindness  of  heart,  good-nature,  and  other 
estimable  qualities.  Accordingly,  we  find 
that  Longimanus  is  represented  in  an  ex- 
ceptional light  by  the  Greek  writers,  one  of 
whom  calls  him  "  the  first  of  the  Persian 
monarchs  for  mildness  and  magnanimity,"  ^ 
while  another  celebrates  the  equity  and  mod- 
eration of  his  government,  which  was  (he 
says)  highly  approved  by  the  Persians.^  Of 
the  religious  views  of  Longimanus  we  have 
no  direct  profane  evidence  ;  but  there  is  no 
reason  to  doubt  that  he  maintained  the  Zo- 
roastrian  sentiments  of  his  ancestors. 

The  organization  of  the  Persian  court  and 
kingdom  which  the  books  of  Ezra,  Nehemiah, 
Organization  ^^^  Esthcr,  reprcscut  to  us  com- 
couHlnT'^""  prises  the  following  points.  The 
dlpfcted.'i?  monarch  is  despotic,  in  a  certain 
Sd'Nfhe!**^'^'  sense  ;  but  he  acts  with  the  advice 
™**'*'  of   a    council,  consisting  ordinarily 

of   the  "seven  princes  of  Persia  and  Media, 

1  Plutarch,  Vit.  Artax.  §  1. 

2  Diod.  Sic.  xi.  71,  §  2. 


OF   THE    OLD   TESTAMENT.  205 

wliich  see  the  king's  face  and  sit  the  first  in 
the  kingdom  "  (Esth.  i.  14  ;  comp.  Ezra  vii. 
14).  He  is  also  controlled  to  some  extent 
by  a  "  law  of  the  Persians  and  the  Medes, 
which  alters  not"  (Esth.  i.  19).  His  king- 
dom is  divided  into  a  number  of  districts 
or  provinces  —  as  many  as  one  hundred  and 
twenty-seven  are  mentioned  (Esth.  i.  1),  — 
over  which  are  set  satraps  (lb.  iii.  12  ;  viii.  9), 
or  other  governors  (lb.),  who  "have  main- 
tenance from  the  palace  "  (Ezra  iv.  14),  col- 
lect and  guard  the  revenue  (lb.  vii.  21),  which 
is  partly  paid  in  money,  and  partly  in  kind 
(lb.  verse  22),  and  report  to  the  court  if  any 
danger  threatens  the  tract  under  their  charge 
(lb.  iv.  11-22;  v.  3-17).  The  court  com- 
municates with  the  satraps,  or  other  gov- 
ernors, by  means  of  a  system  of  mounted  posts 
(Esth.  iii.  13  ;  viii.  10,  14),  which  rapidly 
convey  the  royal  orders  to  the  remotest  parts 
of  the  empire.  The  royal  orders  are  authen- 
ticated by  being  signed  with  the  king's  signet 
(lb.  iii.  10, 12,  etc.).  Record  offices  are  estab- 
lished in  different  places,  and  the  archives  of 
the  empire  are  deposited  in  them  (Ezra  vi.  1, 
2).  It  is  usual  for  the  monarch  to  have  a 
chiefs  or  favorite  minister,  to  whom  he  dele- 
gates, in  a  great  measure,  the  government  of 
his  vast  empire  (Esth,  iii.  1,  10  ;  viii.  8  ;  x.  2, 


206  HISTORICAL  ILLUSTRATIONS 

3).  Special  notice  is  taken  of  any  service 
rendered  to  the  king  by  a  subject  ;  every  such 
service  is  put  on  record  (lb.  ii.  23  ;  vi.  2)  ; 
and  the  principle  is  laid  down  that  royal 
benefactors  are  to  receive  an  adequate  reward 
(lb.  vi.  3).  The  king  resides  ordinarily  either 
at  Susa  (lb.  i.  2  ;  Neli.  i.  1),  or  at  Babylon 
(Ezra  vii.  9  ;  xiii.  6).  His  palace  at  Susa  is 
a  magnificent  building,  remarkable  for  its 
"  pillars  of  marble,"  its  "  pavement  of  red, 
blue,  white,  and  black,''  and  its  "  hangings  of 
white,  green,  and  blue,  which  are  fastened 
with  cords  of  fine  linen  and  purple  to  the  pil- 
lars "  (Esth.  i.  6).  The  palace  is  furnished 
with  couches  of  gold  and  silver,  on  which  the 
guests  recline  when  they  banquet  (lb.). 
The  drinking  vessels  are  of  solid  gold  (lb.  ver. 
7).  Wine  is  served  to  the  king  (Neh.  ii.  1) 
and  to  his  guests  (Esth.  i.  7)  by  cupbearers. 
Eunuchs  are  employed  at  the  court,  and  fill 
positions  of  importance  (lb.  i.  10  ;  ii.  3,  21). 
The  king  has  one  chief  wife,  who  partakes  in 
his  royal  dignity,  and  numerous  concubines 
(lb.  i.  11 ;  ii.  3-14).  Women  are  secluded  ; 
they  feast  apart  from  the  men  (lb.  i.  9),  and 
in  the  palace  occupy  the  Gynasceum,  or 
''  house  of  the  women  "  (lb.  ii.  9).  It.  is  a 
rare  favor  for  even  a  single  noble  to  be  invited 
to  banquet  with  the  king  and  the  queen  (lb. 


OF   THE   OLD   TESTAMENT.  207 

V.  12).  To  intrude  on  the  king's  presence 
without  invitation  is  a  capital  offense,  and  is 
punished  with  death,  unless  the  king  please  to 
condone  it  (lb.  iv.  11). 

Here,  again,  as  in  the  parallel  cases  of 
Egypt  and  Assyria,  the  picture  drawn  is  in 
thorough  accord  with  what  we  know  Agreement  of 
of  the  ancient  Persians  from  pro-  witiiprotane 

-  .  -I      c  J 1      •  accounts  and 

lane  writers  and  irom  tneir  own  with  the  Per- 
monuments.  The  Persian  despot-  meats. 
ism  is  represented  by  Herodotus  as  modified 
by  the  existence  of  a  council,^  and  by  the 
idea  of  an  unalterable  law,  which  the  king 
might  indeed  break,  but  which  he  could  not 
feel  himself  justified  in  breaking.^  The  ex- 
istence of  "  seven  princes  "  at  the  head  of 
the  nobility  is  indicated  by  the  conspiracy 
of  the  seven  chiefs  who  organized  the  revolt 
against  Smerdis,^  as  well  as  by  the  special 
privileges  which  attached  to  six  great  families 
besides  that  of  the  monarch.*  The  division 
of  the  empire  into  numerous  satrapies  and 
sub-satrapies  is  generally  attested  by  the 
Greek  writers,  and  appears  also  in  the  inscrip- 
tions, and  though  so  large  a  number  of  prov- 
inces as  one  hundred  and  twenty-seven  is  not 

1  Herod,  vii.  8. 

2  Ibid.  iii.  31  ;  ix.  111.     Compare  Pht.  Vit.  Artax.  §  27. 

3  Ibid.  iii.  70-79.     Compare  Behist    Inscr.  col.  iv.  par.  18. 

4  Herod,  iii.  84. 


208  HISTORICAL   ILLUSTRATIONS 

mentioned  elsewhere  than  in  Esther,  yet  we 
may  trace  through  history  a  gradual  increase 
in  their  nuniber,i  and  we  can  readily  under- 
stand that  the  vain-glorious  Xerxes  may  have 
swelled  the  list  by  way  of  ostentation.  The 
duty  of  the  satraps  to  guard  the  tranquillity 
of  the  provinces,  to  collect  the  tribute,  and  to 
store  it  in  provincial  treasuries  until  the  time 
came  for  transmitting  it  to  the  court,  is  ap- 
parent from  the  accounts  which  the  best 
authors  give  of  the  satrapial  office.^  Besides 
the  money  tribute  demanded  from  each  prov- 
ince, it  is  a  well-known  fact  that  a  considerable 
payment  had  to  be  made  in  kind.^  The  Persian 
system  of  mounted  posts  was  peculiar  to  them 
amongst  the  ancient  peoples,  and  is  described 
at  length  both  by  Xenophon  and  by  Herod- 
otus.* Its  special  object  was  the  conveyance 
of  the  royal  commands  to  the  provincial  gov- 
ernors.^     A  royal   order,  or  firman^  was  al- 

1  Darius  is  said  by  Herodotus  to  have  instituted  originally 
twenty  satrapies.  But  in  the  Behistun  Inscription  (col.  i.  par. 
6)  this  monarch  reckons  the  provinces  as  21  ;  in  an  inscrij)- 
tion  at  Perscpolis  he  enumerates  23  ;  and  in  that  upon  his  tomb 
at  Nakhsh-i-Kustam,  he  mentions  29.  Herodotus  makes  tho 
nations  composing  the  armament  of  Xerxes  exceed  60. 

2  See  Xen.  Ci/rop.  viii.  6,  §  1-6,  and  Herod,  iii.  89. 

3  Herod,  i.  192  ;  iii.  91,  etc. 

4  Xen.  Cyrop.  viii.  6,  §  17,  18  ;  Herod,  viii.  98.  On  the 
employment  of  camels,  no  less  than  horses,  in  the  postal  service 
(Esth.  viii.  10),  see  Strabo,  xv.  2,  §  10. 

6  Xen.  Cyi'op.  viii.  6,  §  18  ;  Herod,  iii.  126. 


OF   THE   OLD   TESTAMENT.  209 

ways  authenticated  by  being  signed  with  the 
royal  signet. ^  The  composition  and  preser- 
vation of  state  archives  is  attested  by  Ctesias,^ 
who  declared  that  he  drew  his  Persian  history 
from  "royal  parchments,"  to  which  he  had 
access  during  his  stay  at  the  court  of  Artax- 
erxes  Mnemon.  Favorite  ministers,  to  whom 
they  delegate  the  greater  part  of  their  duties, 
are  found  to  have  been  employed  by  most 
of  the  Persian  monarchs  after  the  time  of 
Darius.^  The  recognition  of  a  distinct  class 
of  "  Royal  Benefactors  "  appears  to  have  been 
a  special  Persian  institution.  The  names  of 
such  persons  were  entered  upon  a  formal  list ; 
and  it  was  regarded  as  the  bounden  duty  of 
the  monarch  to  see  that  they  were  adequately 
rewarded.* 

So,  too,  with  respect  to  the  court.  That 
Susa  was  its  ordinary  seat  is  apparent  from 
Herodotus,  Ctesias,  and  the  Greek  writers 
generally,  while  that  it  was  fixed  during  a 
part  of  the  year  at  Babylon,  is  declared  by 
Xenophon,  Plutarch,  and  others.^     The  mag- 

1  Herod,  iii.  128. 

2  Ap.  Diod.  Sic.  ii.  32. 

8  Herod,  vii.  5  ;  Ctes.  Exc.  Pers.  §  20,  29,  49  ;   Diod.  Sic. 
xvi.  50.  etc. 

4  Herod,  iii.  140  ;  viii.  85,  90  ;  Thucyd.  129. 

5  Xen.  Cyrop.  viii.  8,  §  22;  Plut.  de  Exil.  p.  604;  Ct?s.  Exc 
Pers.  §§  12,  28,  etc. 

14 


210  HISTORICAL  ILLUSTRATIONS 

nificence  of  the  S^sian  palace  is  evidenced, 
not  merely  by  the  ac3counts  of  ancient  authors, 
but  by  the  existing  remains,  which  exhibit 
four  groups  of  "  marble  pillars  "  exquisitely 
carved,  springing  from  a  pavement  composed 
chiefly  of  blue  limestone,  and  constructed  (in 
the  opinion  of  the  excavators)  with  a  view 
to  the  employment  of  curtains  or  hangings  be- 
tween the  columns,  an  arrangement  thoroughly 
suitable  to  the  site  and  climate.^  Greek 
writers  describe  at  length  the  splendor  of  the 
palace  furniture,  whereon  the  precious  metals 
were  prodigally  lavished  ;  ^  the  number  and 
variety  of  the  officers,  principally  eunuchs ;  ^ 
the  richness  and  grandeur  of  the  banquets  ;  * 
the  seclusion  of  the  women ;  ^  and  the  like. 
They  confirm  the  representations  made  of 
the  vast  size  of  the  seraglio,^  and  the  superior 
dignity  of  one  queen  consort.*^  They  tell  us 
that  the  several  wives  approached  the  monarch 
"  in  their  turn."  ^     And  they  clearly  intimate 

1  See  Loftus,  Chaldcea  and  Susiana,  pp.  365-375. 

2  Athen.  Deipnos.  iv.  p.  145,  A;  xii.  p.  514,  C;  iEsch.  Per$. 
\.  161 ;  Philostrat.  Imag.  ii.  32. 

8  Xen.  Hell.  vii.  1,  §  38;  Cyrop.  viii.  8,  §  20 
*  Athen.  Deijm.  iv.  pp.  145,  146. 

6  Herod,  iii.  58;  Plut.  Vit.  Artnx.  §  27;  Diod.  Sic.  xi.  56,  §7 
«  Plut.  Vit.  Artax.  §  27;  Q.  Curt.  iii.  3. 

7  See  Ancient  Monarchies,  vol.  iii.  p.  216. 

8  Herod,  iii.  69.    Compare  Esth.  ii.  12,  15. 


OF   THE   OLD   TESTAMENT.  211 

that  intrusion  on  the  king's   privacy  was  an 
offense  punishable  with  death.^ 

Remarkable    as   is   this    agreement   of  the 
books  under  consideration  with   profane  his- 
tory, and   especially   with   the   ac-  charges 
counts  which  have  come  down  to  us  J|J*°^^f/^® 
of  Persian  habits,  ideas,  and  prac-   Esther. 
tices,  there  have  not  been  wanting  persons  to 
charge,  at  any  rate,  one  of  them  —  the  book 
of    Esther — with   historical  inaccuracy,  and 
even  with  "  containing  a  number  of  errors  in 
regard  to  Persian  customs."  ^     It  would  seem, 
therefore,  to  be  necessary,  before  bringing  this 
chapter   to   a   conclusion,    that  a  few  words 
should  be  said  in  reply  to  these  charges. 

The  historical  inaccuracies  alleged  to  be 
contained  in  Esther  are  the  following :  (1.) 
Amestris,  it  is  said  (who  cannot  be  i.  Alleged 

^  historical  m- 

Esther,  since  she  was  the  daughter  accuracies. 
of  a  Persian  noble,  Otanes),  was  the  real 
Queen  Consort  of  Xerxes,  from  the  beginning 
of  his  reign  to  the  end  ;  and,  therefore,  the 
whole  story  of  Esther  being  made  queen,  and 
of  her  great  power  and  influence,  is  impos- 
sible. (2.)  Mordecai,  Esther's  first  cousin, 
having  been  carried  into  captivity  with  Jeco- 
niah  (Esth.  ii.  6),  in  B.  c.  588,  must  have  been 

1  Herod,  iii.  72,  77,  84,  etc. 

2  De  Wette,  FAnldtnng,  §  198  a. 


212  HISTORICAL   ILLUSTRATIONS 

at  least  129  years  old  in  B.  c.  474,  Xerxes' 
twelfth  year,  and  Esther  must,  consequently, 
have  been  then  too  old  to  have  influence 
through  her  beauty.  (3.)  Artabanus,  the 
captain  of  the  guard,  was  Grand  Vizier,  and 
ruled  Xerxes  at  the  time  when  Haman  and 
Mordecai  are  given  that  position.  Let  us 
examine  these  "  inaccuracies  "  in  their  order. 
(1.)  Amestris  was  undoubtedly,  during  the 
greater  part  of  his  reign,  the  chief  wife  of 
These  "inac-    Xerxcs.     He    married   her   in   the 

curacies"  ,  <»    i  •      p      i 

examined.  life-timc  of  liis  father,  and  she  out- 
lived him,  and  held  the  rank  of  Queen  Mother 
under  his  son  and  successor,  Artaxerxes.  She 
cannot  be  the  Esther  of  Scripture ;  but  there 
is  nothing  to  prevent  her  from  being  Vashti, 
whose  disgrace  may  have  been  only  tempo- 
rary. Or  possibly  Vashti  and  Esther  may 
both  have  been  "secondary  wives,"  though 
the  title  of  Queen  is  given  to  them.^  A 
young  "  secondary  wife  "  might  obtain  a  tem- 
porary influence  over  the  monarch  beyond 
that  of  the  Queen  Consort,  though  the  power 
of  the  latter,  not  resting  merely  upon  royal 
fancy,  would  outlast  that  of  any  such  rival. 
We  know  far  too  little  of  the  domestic  hfe  of 
Xerxes  from  profane  sources  to  have  any  right 

1  See  the  articles  on  Esther  and  Vashti  in  Smith's  Biblical 
Dictionary. 


OF   THE    OLD   TESTAMENT.  213 

to  pronounce  the  position  which  Esther  is 
made  to  occupy  in  his  harem  from  his  seventh 
to  his  twelfth  year  "  impossible,"  or  even  im- 
probable. 

(2.)  It  is  not  clear  that  Mordecai  is  said  in 
Esther  to  have  been  carried  into  captivity  with 
Jeconiah.  The  passage  referred  to  (Esth.  ii. 
5,  6)  is  ambiguous.  It  may  be,  and  probably 
is  Kish,  Mordecai's  great  grandfather,  of  whom 
the  assertion  is  made  in  verse  6,  that  he  "  had 
been  carried  away  from  Jerusalem  with  the 
captivity  which  had  been  carried  away  with 
Jeconiah,  whom  Nebuchadnezzar,  King  of  Bab- 
ylon, had  carried  away."  This  construction 
of  the  passage,  which  the  Hebrew  idiom  fully 
allows,  would  accord  completely  with  the  date 
of  Xerxes.  1 

(3.)  There  is  no  evidence  at  what  time  in 
Xerxes'  reign  he  fell  under  the  influence  of 
Artabanus,  the  captain  of  the  guard.  We 
only  know  that  this  chief  ruled  him  towards 
the  close  of  his  reign.^  It  is  therefore  quite 
possible  that  between  the  death  of  Mardonius, 
B.  c.  479,  and  the  rise  of  Artabanus  to  power, 
first  Haman  and  then  Mordecai  may  have  held 

1  *  The  verb  in  this  case  belongs  to  the  nearer  subject  instead 
of  a  remoter  one.  This  consistency  with  the  chronology  as  thus 
indicated  by  other  data  is  of  itself  a  reason  for  reckoning  heie 
from  Kish  and  not  from  Mordecai.  —  H. 

iS  Ctes.  Exc.  Pers.  §  29. 


214  HISTORICAL  ILLUSTRATIONS 

the  position  assigned  them  in  Esther.  Indeed, 
there  are  some  grounds  for  identifying  Mor- 
decai  with  a  person  who  is  expressly  said 
to  have  been  very  influential  with  Xerxes, 
namely,  Natacas,  or  Matacas,  the  eunuch. 
For  the  name,  Matacas,  would  probably  be 
rendered  in  Chaldee  by  Mordecai ;  ^  and  there 
is  sufficient  reason  for  believing  that  Morde- 
cai belonged  to  the  class  of  persons  to  whom 
Ctesias  assigns  Matacas. ^ 

Of  the  alleged  "  errors  in  regard  to  Persian 
customs,"  the  following  are  the  principal. 
(2.)  Alleged  (^O  ^  Persian  king,  it  is  said, 
^^rdlo  pe?-  would  ucvcr  havc  invited  his  Queen 
Biaa  customs.  ^^  ^  carousal.  (2.)  He  could  not 
legally,  and  therefore  it  is  supposed  he  could 
not  possibly  marry  a  wife  not  belonging  to 
one  of  the  seven  great  Persian  families.  (3.) 
Such  honors  as  are  said  to  have  been  conferred 
on  Mordecai  (Esth.  vi.  8-11),  being  in  their 
nature  royal,  would  never  have  been  allowed 
by  a  Persian  king  to  a  subject.  (4.)  No 
Persian  king  would  have  issued  two  such 
murderous  decrees  as  are  ascribed  to  Ahasue- 
rus,  or  have  allowed  a  subject  race  to  massa- 
cre 75,000  Persians. 

In  reply,  we  may  observe  (1)  that  the  Per- 

1  See  Bp.  A.  Hervey's  article  on  Mordecai  in  Smith's 
Biblical  Dictionary,  vol.  ii.  p.  420,  and  vol.  iii.  p.  2010,  Amer.  ed 

2  Exc.  Pers.  §  20  and  §  27. 


OF   THE   OLD   TESTAMENT.  215 

sian  abhorrence  of  such  an  act  as  exhibiting 
the  Queen  unveiled  to  a  set  of  rev-  These  "er- 
elers  is  imphed  m  the  retusal  of  ined. 
Vashti  (Esth.  i.  11)  ;  and  that  the  question 
of  the  possibility  or  impossibility  of  the  thing 
occurring  is  merely  a  question  of  the  lengths 
to  which  a  Persian  monarch  would  go  in  out- 
raging propriety  and  violating  established 
usage.  Now  when  Cambyses  shot  the  son  of 
one  of  his  nobles,  merely  to  prove  the  steadi- 
ness of  his  hand,^  and  when  Xerxes  called  on 
his  brother  Masistes  to  divorce  his  wife  with- 
out even  a  pretext,^  they  shocked  their  sub- 
jects and  outraged  propriety  as  much  as 
Ahasuerus  did  when  he  sent  his  order  to 
Vashti.  There  were,  in  fact,  no  limits  which 
a  Persian  monarch  might  not,  and  did  not, 
when  he  chose,  overstep,  nor  any  customs 
which  he  held  absolutely  sacred.  And  the 
character  of  Xerxes  would  make  such  an  out- 
rage as  that  related  more  probable  under 
him  than  under  other  kings.  Hence  even  De 
Wette  allows  that  "  the  invitation  to  Vashti 
is  possible  on  account  of  the  advancing  cor- 
ruption in  Xerxes'  time  and  through  the  folly 
of   Xerxes   himseK."  ^     (2.)     The   marriage 

1  Herod,  iii.  35.  2  ibid.  ix.  111. 

3  Einleltung  in  das  A.  Test.  p.  267;  [and  De  Wette-Schrader, 
p.  398  (1809).  This  later  edition  contains  all  of  De  Wette  with 
additions  by  Schrader,  supplementary  or  corrective.] 


216  HISTORICAL  ILLUSTRATIONS 

of  Abasuerus  with  a  Jewess,  even  if  we  re- 
gard it  as  a  marriage  in  the  fullest  sense, 
would  not  be  more  illegal  or  more  abhorrent 
to  Persian  notions  than  Cambyses'  marriage 
with  his  full  sister.^  It  is  therefore  just  as 
likely  to  have  taken  place.  If,  on  the  other 
hand,  it  was  a  marriage  of  the  secondary  kind, 
the  law  with  respect  to  the  king's  wives  being 
taken  from  the  seven  great  families  would 
not  apply  to  it..  (3.)  The  honors  granted  to 
Mordecai  were  certainly  very  unusual  in  Per- 
sia. They  consisted  in  three  ^  things,  all  of 
which  were  capital  offenses,  if  done  without  the 
royal  permission.  But  we  find  Persian  kings 
allowing  their  subjects  in  these  or  parallel 
acts  occasionally,  either  for  a  special  purpose, 
or  even  out  of  mere  good-nature.  Xerxes, 
on  one  occasion  made  his  uncle,  Artabanus, 
put  on  his  dress,  sit  for  a  time  on  his  throne, 
and  then  go  to  sleep  in  his  bed.^  And  Artax- 
erxes  Mnemon  permitted  Tiribazus  to  wear, 
as  often  as  he  liked,  a  robe  which  had  been 
his,  and  which  he  had  given  to  him.*  There 
is  nothing  really  contrary  to  Oriental  notions 
in  the  allowance  to  a  subject  even  of   royal 

1  Herod,  iii.  31. 

2  Wearing  the  royal  apparel,  riding  on  the  king's  horse,  and 
having  the  crown  royal  set  upon  his  head  (see  Esther  vi.  8). 

3  Herod,  vii.  17. 

4  Plutarch,  Vit.  Artax.  §  5. 


OF   THE   OLD   TESTAMENT.  217 

honors  for  a  time  and  under  certain  circum- 
stances. (4.)  The  murderous  decrees  ascribed 
to  Ahasuerus  have  nothing  incredible  in  them 
to  one  who  is  familiar  with  Oriental,  or  even 
with  Persian  history.  Human  life  is  of  little 
account  in  the  East.  When  Cambyses,  on  his 
return  to  Egypt,  from  an  unsuccessful  expedi- 
tion into  Ethiopia,  found  the  Egyptians  cele- 
brating an  incarnation  of  Apis,  he  gave  orders 
that  every  one  who  was  seen  keeping  the  fes- 
tival should  be  put  to  death. ^  When  the 
seven  conspirators  had  slain  the  Pseudo-Smer- 
dis,  they  proceeded  with  their  friends  to  mas- 
sacre every  Magus  whom  they  could  lay  their 
hands  on.^  In  memory  of  the  event,  a  feast, 
called  Magophonia,  was  kept  every  year, 
during  which  every  Magus  who  showed  him- 
self, might  be  killed  by  any  one.^  The  mas- 
sacres of  the  Mamelukes  and  the  Janissaries 
are  famihar  to  all.  As  for  the  objection  that 
a  Persian  king  would  never  have  allowed  the 
massacre  of  "  75,000  Persians^''''  it  is  based  on 
a  misconception.  The  75,000  were  certainly 
not  all  of  them  (Esth.  ix.  16),  and  perhaps  not 
any  of  them  Persians.  They  were  the  Jews' 
enemies,  those  who  set  upon  them,  in  the  prov- 
inces.    Now  there  was  no  natural  antagonism 

1  Herod,  iii.  29.  2  ibid.  iii.  79. 

8  Ibid.    Compare  Ctes.  Exc.  Pers.  §  15. 


218  HISTORICAL   ILLUSTRATIONS 

between  the  Persians  and  the  Jews,  while 
there  was  a  very  strong  antagonism  between 
the  Jews  and  such  of  the  subject  nations  as 
were  idolaters.  Moreover,  the  Persians  in 
the  provinces  consisted  almost  entirely  of  per- 
sons in  the  service  of  the  crown,  military  or 
civil,  who  would  have  orders  from  the  court, 
at  any  rate,  not  to  take  part  against  the  Jews. 
Thus  the  persons  slain  would  belong,  hke  the 
Jews  themselves,  to  the  subject  races,  whose 
lives  such  a  monarch  as  Xerxes  held  exceed- 
ingly cheap. 

[*  It  is  a  peculiarity  of  this  book  of  Esther 
that  the  name  of  Jehovah  or  God  is  not  once 
mentioned  in  it.  This  omission  is  the  less  sur- 
prising, because  it  occurs  in  a  history  so  full 
of  interpositions  that  reveal  the  actual  pres- 
ence of  Him  who  presides  over  the  destiny  of 
men  and  of  nations,  and  also  the  power  of 
that  faith  in  the  unseen  One,  which  made  the 
actors  in  this  great  national  drama  so  hopeful 
and  enduring.  Professor  Stuart  says  very 
truly;  "The  fact  that  the  feast  of  Purim^ 
has  come  down  to  us  from  time  almost  imme- 
morial,   ....   proves  as  certainly  that  the 

1*  The  feast  of  Purim,  (which  means  lots)  was  so  called 
ironically  by  the  Jews,  with  reference  to  Haman's  frustrated 
conspiracy  against  them  (Esther  iv.  24;  and  2  Mace.  xv.  36). 
It  was  an  annual  festival  of  two  days,  the  14th  and  15th  of 
the  month  Adar;  i.  e.  about  the  middle  of  March.  — H. 


OF   THE   OLD   TESTAMENT.  219 

main  events  in  the  book  of  Esther  happened, 
as  the  Declaration  of  Independence  and  the 
celebration  of  the  Fourth  of  July  prove  that 
we  separated  from  Great  Britain  and  became 
an  independent  nation.  The  book  of  Esther 
is  an  essential  document  to  explain  the  feast 
of  Purim."  The  self-asserting  character  of 
truthfulness  vrhich  the  narrative  assumes,  as 
illustrated  in  Dean  Milman's  sketch  of  the 
events,  speaks  strongly  in  its  favor.] 

It  would  seem,  then,  that  there  is  really  no 
ground  for  the  assertion  that  the  writer  of 
Esther  has  fallen  into  errors  with 
regard  to  Persian  customs.  The 
book  of  Esther,  no  less  than  the  books  of 
Nehemiah  and  Ezra,  exhibits  a  profound  ac- 
quaintance with  Oriental,  and  especially  with 
Persian  notions  and  modes  of  thought.  Its 
author  was  undoubtedly  a  Jew  who  lived  at 
the  court  of  Susa,  under  the  Persian  kings, 
and  its  facts  are  worthy  of  our  full  accept* 
auce. 


220  HISTORICAL  ILLUSTRATIONS 


CHAPTER  VIIL 

CONCLUSION. 

The  historical  books  of  the  Old  Testament 
have  now  been  passed  in  review  before  the 
Results  of  the  reader,  and  their  matter  has  been, 
inquiry.  where  it  was  possible,  compared  with 

such  profane  records  of  the  past  as  are  gener- 
ally considered  by  critics  to  be  most  authentic, 
—  with  the  monuments  and  hieroglyphics  of 
Egypt,  the  cuneiform  inscriptions  of  Baby- 
lonia, Assyria,  and  Persia,  the  single  extant 
record  of  Moab,  and  the  writings  of  the  best 
ancient  historians,  such  as  Herodotus,  Thucy- 
dides,  Xenophon,  Ctesias,  Manetho,  Berosus, 
Abydenus,  Menander  of  Ephesus,  Nicolas  of 
Damascus,  and  others.  The  result  seems  to 
1.  Very  little  bc,  in  the  first  place,  that  contradic- 
between  the    tlou   betwceu   the   sacrcd   and   the 

pacred  and  the  «  ,  ^  • ,    ^ 

profane.  profaue  scarccly  occurs,  unless  it  be 

in  chronological  statements,  and  that  it  is  even 
there  confined  within  narrow  limits.  In  a 
few  places,  and  a  few  places  only,  the  Scrip- 
tural record  of  time,  as  contained  in  the  ex- 
tant Hebrew  text,  differs  from  that  of  Assyrian 


OF   THE   OLD   TESTAMENT.  221 

monuments  or  Egyptian  historians.^  The 
difference  is  in  general  one  of  no  more  than  a 
few  years ;  and  in  no  case  after  the  time  of 
Solomon  (before  which  the  sacred  chronology  is 
yague,  while  profane  chronology  is  uncertain) 
does  it  amount  to  so  much  as  half  a  century. 
It  is  therefore  reasonable  to  suppose  that  such 
discrepancies  as  occur  in  this  matter  are  acci- 
dental, arising  either  from  different  modes  of 
computing  time,  from  the  corruption  of  a 
reading,  from  the  carelessness  of  an  engraver, 
or  from  some  similar  circumstance.  In  the 
general  outline  of  human  affairs,  in  the  account 
given  of  the  rise  and  flourishing  periods  of 
kingdoms,  of  their  succession  one  ^  -^^^ 
after  another,  of  their  duration,  ^T.mte' agree- 
their  character,  their  conquests,  and  "'^°*- 
the  order  of  their  sovereigns,  the  sacred  nar- 
rative shows  a  remarkable  agreement  with  the 
best  profane  sources,  only  in  a  very  few  places 
bringing  before  us  personages  in  a  position 
of  apparent  importance,  whom  we  cannot  dis- 
tinctly identify  with  known  characters  in  pro- 
fane history.  The  cases  of  this  kind  which 
still  remain  as  difficulties  are  two  only,  those 
of  Pul  and  Darius  the  Mede.^  All  the  other 
Oriental  monarchs  mentioned  by  name  in  the 

1  See  above,  pp.  154,  155. 

2  See  pp.  131-134,  and  183-186. 


222  HISTORICAL   ILLUSTRATIONS 

course  of  the  narrative  are,  if  we  possess  the 
profane  history  of  the  period  in  any  detail, 
capable  of  being  recognized  in  it.^  The  char- 
acters of  the  kings,  as  drawn  in  Scripture  and 
by  profane  writers,  agree.  Their  actions  are 
either  such  as  profane  historians  record,  or 
such  as  are  natural  to  persons  in  their  position. 
Above  all,  there  is  a  minute  agreement  be- 
tween the  Scriptural  account  of  the  habits, 
customs,  and  ideas  of  the  several  nations, 
which  the  course  of  the  narrative  brings  before 
us,  and  the  description  of  them  which  is  obtain- 
able from  their  own  monuments  and  from  the 
best  ancient  writers.  In  four  instances  — 
those  of  Egypt,  Assyria,  Babylonia,  and  Per- 
sia, —  our  knowledge  of  the  condition  of  the 
people  at  the  time  indicated  being  exact,  and 
copious,  if  not  complete,  the  comparison  may 
be  made  in  extenso  ;  and  it  is  especially  in 
these  four  instances  that  the  harmony  be- 
tween the  sacred  and  the  profane  is  most 
striking.2 

What,  then,  is  the  force  of  the  whole  agree- 
ment ?  What  are  we  justified  in  deducing 
Conclusions  to  from  it?  In  the  first  place  it  jus- 
these  results,  tifics  US  in  Setting  asidc  as  wholly 
inadmissible   the   theory  which  not  long  ago 

1  Page  153. 

2  Pp.  41-48,  70-81,  156-165, 170-173,  and  207-211. 


OF   THE   OLD   TESTAMENT.  223 

■was  SO  popular  in  Germany,  that  the  so-called 
historical  narratives  of  the  Old  Testament  are 
legends  or  myths  —  tales,  i.  e.  invented  by 
moral  teachers  as  a  convenient  vehicle  where- 
by to  instil  mto  men's  minds  moral  truths. 
It  is  clear  that  the  narratives  are,  in  the 
strictest  sense  of  the  word,  histories,  that  the 
writers  intend  to  record,  and  do  at  any  rate  in 
the  main  record,  facts  ;  that  the  personages  of 
whom  they  speak  are  real  personages,  the 
events  which  they  describe  real  events,  which 
actually  happened  at  the  times  to  which  they 
assigned  them.  The  only  qti^stion  that  can 
be  raised  is :  Do  they  describe  the  events  as 
they  }iaj)pened^  or  do  they  allow  themselves  to 
embellish  them  ?  In  other  words,  are  the 
miraculous  portions  of  the  narrative  to  be  ac- 
cepted, or  may  we  safely  set  them  aside ;  as 
we  do  the  prodigies,  when  we  read  the  most 
authentic  portions  of  Herodotus  or  Livy  ?  It 
is  often  said,  that  whatever  historical  confir- 
mation of  the  general  narrative  of  Scripture 
has  been  discovered  recently,"  there  is  no  such 
confirmation  of  the  miracles.  And  this  is  no 
doubt  true.  The  Egyptian,  Assyrian,  Baby- 
lonian, Moabite,  and  Persian  historiographers 
have  not  placed  on  record  the  miracles  which 
were  wrought  by,  and  for,  or  at  any  rate  in 
close  connection  with,  the  Jews.     It  was  not 


224  HISTORICAL  ILLUSTRATIONS 

to  be  expected  that  they  would  do  so,  since 
they  never  seek  to  glorify  any  nation  but  their 
own.  The  miracles  must  stand  on  their  own 
basis,  —  on  the  evidence,  i.  e.  of  the  writers  who 
record  them,  and  their  trustworthiness  as  wit- 
nesses to  facts.  They  cannot  be  cut  out  of  the 
narrative,  because  they  are  integral  portions  of 
it;  often  constituting  its  turning-point,  and 
being  the  very  thing  that  the  writer  is  bent 
on  recording,  so  that  without  the  miracles  his 
narrative  would  be  pointless  and  meaningless. 
What  we  have  to  ask  ourselves  is.  Which  is 
more  likely,  that  writers,  bent  on  relating  a 
set  of  false  miracles,  should  be  careful  to  make 
their  narrative  conform,  in  all  its  minutice,  to 
historic  accuracy,  an  accuracy  extending  to 
numerous  points  on  which  they  could  not  ex- 
pect their  readers  to  have  any  knowledge,  or 
that  the  miracles  which  they  record  were  act- 
ually performed,  and  are  related  by  them  with 
the  same  truthfulness  which  is  found  to  char- 
acterize the  rest  of  their  history  ?  Unless  we 
start  with  a  foregone  conclusion  that  miracles 
are  impossible,  we  can  scarcely  fail  to  embrace 
the  latter  hypothesis  rather  than  the  former. 

Briefly,  the  historic  accuracy  of  the  sacred 
writers  in  those  parts  of  their  narrative  which 
we  can  test,  goes  far  to  authenticate  their 
whole  narrative.      The  miraculous  facts  being 


OF   THE   OLD   TESTAMENT.  225 

inextricably  intertwined  with  the  facts  which 
are  natural  and  ordinary,  it  is  necessary  either 
to  accept  or  reject  both  together.  But  the 
laws  of  historical  criticism  do  not  allow  us  to 
reject  the  ordinary  facts,  since  they  satisfy  all 
the  tests  by  which  real  is  known  from  pre- 
tended history.  We  are  bound,  therefore,  to 
accept  the  extraordinary. 

Again,  a  conclusion  which  forces  itself  on  us 
irresistibly  when  we  compare  the  sacred  books 
with  the  best  profane  sources,  is  that  the  Scrip- 
ture narrative  must  have  been  written,  in  the 
main,  by  eye-witnesses  of  the  events  recorded  : 
the  Pentateuch  probably  by  Moses ;  Joshua 
by  one  of  the  "  elders "  who  outlived  him ; 
Samuel  by  Samuel ;  Kings  and  Chronicles  by 
the  prophets  contemporary  with  the  several 
monarchs ;  Daniel,  Ezra,  and  Nehemiah  by 
the  persons  whose  names  they  bear ;  Esther 
by  one  who  lived  under  Xerxes.  But  if  so, 
the  writers  could  not  possibly  be  ignorant  of 
the  truth.  And  no  one  now  imagines  that 
they  intended  to  deceive.  Strauss  says,  "  It 
would  most  unquestionably  be  an  argument  of 
decisive  weight  in  favor  of  the  credibility  of 
the  Bibhcal  history,  could  it  indeed  be  shown 
that  it  was  written  by  eye-witnesses."  ^  This 
is  exactly  what  the  minute  accuracy  of  the 
sacred  writers,  and  their  close  agreement  with 

1  Leben  Jesu,  §  13. 


226  HISTOEICAL  ILLUSTRATIONS. 

contemporary  records  and  tlie  best  profane 
historians,  shows  almost  to  a  certainty.  The 
credibihty  of  the  Biblical  history  would  thus 
seem  to  be,  even  according  to  Rationalism 
itself,  established.^ 

1  *  Xor  can  it  be  irrelevant  to  add  here,  that  this  line  of 
argument  so  applicable  to  the  Old  Testament,  may  be  applied 
with  still  greater  force  to  the  Avritings  of  the  New  Testament ; 
for  the  points  of  contact  between  these  and  contemporary  his- 
tory are  still  more  numerous  and  diversified,  and  admit  of  a  more 
ready  verification.  Take,  for  example,  the  book  of  the  Acts  of 
the  Apostles.  The  history  which  we  read  in  the  Acts  connects 
itself  at  numerous  points  with  the  social  customs  of  different  and 
distant  nations;  with  the  fluctuating  civil  affairs  of  the  Jews, 
Greeks,  and  Romans;  and  with  geographical  or  political  divis- 
ions and  arrangements,  which  were  constantly  undergoing  some 
change  or  modification.  Through  all  these  circumstances,  which 
underlie  Luke's  narrative  from  commencement  to  end,  the  au- 
thor pursues  his  way  without  a  single  instance  of  contradiction 
or  collision.  Examples  of  the  most  unstudied  harmony  with 
the  complicated  relations  of  the  times  present  themselves  at 
every  step.  No  Avriter  who  was  conscious  of  fabricating  his 
story  would  have  hazarded  such  a  number  of  minute  allusions, 
since  they  increase  so  immensely  the  risk  of  detection;  and 
still  less,  if  he  had  ventured  upon  it,  could  he  have  introduced 
them  so  skillfully  as  to  baflle  every  attempt'to  discover  a  single 
well-founded  instance  of  ignorance  or  oversight.  It  adds  to  the 
force  of  the  argument  to  remark,  that  in  the  pages  of  Luke 
every  such  allusion  falls  from  him  entirely  without  effort  or 
parade.  It  never  strikes  the  reader  as  far-fetched  or  con- 
trived. Every  incident  flows  naturally  out  of  the  progress  of 
the  narrative.  It  is  no  exaggeration  to  say,  that  the  well- 
informed  reader,  who  will  study  carefully  the  book  of  the 
Acts,  and  compare  the  incidental  notices  to  be  found  there 
with  the  geography  and  the  political  history  of  the  times,  and 
with  the  customs  of  the  different  countries  in  which  the  scene 
of  the  transactions  is  laid,  will  receive  an  impression  of  the  wri- 
ter's fidelity  and  accuracy,  equal  to  that  of  the  most  forcible 
treatises  on  the  truth  of  Christianity.  —  H. 


APPENDIX.1 


ASSYRIAN-  STORY  OF  THE  FLOOD. 

Some  fifteen  years  ago,  in  excavating  the  site  of  the  old  pal- 
ace of  Nineveh,  the  debris  of  the  royal  library  was  found  there. 
History  in  that  age  was  written  on  clay  tablets,  and  some  of 
those  found  here  were  twenty-five  hundred  years  old.  They 
were  brought  to  England  and  deposited  in  the  British  Museum. 
Among  those  who  have  studied  these  inscriptions  is  Mr.  George 
Smith,  connected  with  the  Museum,  whom  Sir  Henry  Rawlinson 
pronounces  the  greatest  Assyrian  scholar  now  living. 

Among  these  tablets,  Mr.  Smith  found  some  relating  to  the 
flood,  of  which  three  different  copies  exist  containing  duplicate 
texts,  and  belonging  to  the  time  of  Assurbanipal,  about  660  b. 
c.  The  original  text,  as  appears  from  the  tablets,  must  have 
belonged  to  the  city  of  Erech,  and  have  been  translated  into  the 
Semitic  Babylonian  at  a  very  early  period.  Some  of  the  evi- 
dences of  its  antiquity  are,  first,  the  three  Assj'^rian  copies  con- 
tain various  readings  which  had  crept  into  the  text  since  the 
first  document  was  written ;  secondly,  the  Assyrian  copyist  did 
not  know  the  exact  literal  representative  of  the  older  original 
character ;  and,  thirdly,  some  sentences  originally  glosses  have 
crept  into  the  text  of  the  later  copy.  The  original  composition 
is  decided  to  be  as  old  at  least  as  the  nineteenth  century  before 
the  Christian  era.2 

The  principal  personage  in  these  legends  is  Izdubar  (the 
name  is  anagi-ammatic  rather  than  personal ),8  a  king  who  lived 

1  This  Appendix  has  been  added  by  the  American  editor. 

2  This  discovery  is  pronounced  "  one  of  the  most  important  and  valu 
able  ever  made  in  the  province  of  archaeology  "  ( The  Academy y'Lond'>n 
April  15, 1873). 

8  Conjectured  by  Sir  H.  Rawlinson  to  mean  "  source  of  fire.'' 


228  APPENDIX. 

near  the  lime  of  a  great  deluge  and  belonged  to  Erech,  now 
Warka,  one  of  the  most  ancient  cities  of  the  world.  The  other 
cities  mentioned  are  Babel,  Surippak,  and  Nipur.  Two  of 
these,  Babel  and  Erech,  are  the  first  two  capitals  of  Nimrod  ; 
and  Nipur,  according  to  the  Talmud,  is  the  same  as  Calneh 
(Gen.  X.  10),  another  of  Nimrod's  cities. 

Izdubar,  having  conquered  Belesus,  a  great  king,  and  put  on 
his  rival's  crown,  and  having  married  Ishtar,  a  princess  of 
great  beauty,  became  ill  and  began  to  fear  death,  man's  great 
enemy.  To  escape  such  a  fate  he  wandered  forth  in  search  of 
a  patriarch  named  Sisit,  whom  the  Babylonians  supposed  to 
have  become  immortal  without  having  died.  Izdubar  hoped  to 
learn  from  him  the  secret  of  this  escape  from  the  common  lot  of 
mortals.  In  the  course  of  these  wanderings  he  met  a  seaman 
named  Urhamsi,  and  fitting  out  a  vessel  the  two  sailed  along 
for  a  month  and  fifteen  days  till  they  arrived  at  a  place  near 
the  mouth  of  the  Euphrates  where  Sisit  was  supposed  to  dwell. 
They  make  known  their  request  to  him,  but  must  converse 
across  a  stream  which  divided  the  immortal  and  the  mortal 
from  each  other. 

The  first  ten  tablets,  which  are  very  mutilated,  contain  almost 
nothing  relating  to  this  subject.  The  eleventh  tablet,  which  is 
much  m.ore  complete,  begins  with  a  speech  of  Izdubar,  who  in- 
quires of  Sisit  how  he  became  immortal.  Sisit,  in  answer  to 
this  question,  proceeds  to  relate  the 

STORY   OF   THE   FLOOD. 

1.1  Izdubar  after  this  manner  said  to  Sisit  afar  off  2.  Sisit.  3. 
The  account  do  thou  tell  to  me  4.  The  account  do  thou  tell  to 
me  5.  to  the  midst  to  make  war  6.  I  come  up  after  thee  7.  say 
how  thou  hast  done  it  and  in  the  circle  of  the  gods  life  thou  hast 
gained.  8.  Sisit  after  this  manner  said  to  Izdubar,  9.  I  will 
reveal  to  thee,  Izdubar,  the  concealed  story,  10.  and  the  wis- 
dom of  the  gods  1  will  relate  to  thee.  11.  The  city  Surippak 
the  city  which  thou  hast  established  ....  placed  12.  was  an- 
cient, and  the  gods  within  it  13.  dwelt,  a  tempest  ....  their 
god,  the  great  gods  14.  Anu  15.  Bel  16.  Ninip  17.  lord  of  Hades 
18.  their  will  revealed  in  the  midst  of  19.  hearing  and  he  spoke 
to  me  thus  20.  Surrippakite  son  of  Ubaratutu  21.  make  a  great 

1  The  figures  mark  the  successive  lines  and  show  whether  they  are 
more  or  less  complete. 


APPENDIX.  229 

ship  for  thee  22.  I  will  destroy  the  sinners  and  life  23.  cause  to 
go  in  the  seed  of  life  all  of  it  to  preserve  them  24.  the  ship 
which  thou  shalt  make  25.  cubits  shall  be  the  measure  cf  its 
length  and  26.  cubits  the  amount  of  its  breadth  and  its  height 
27.  Into  the  deep  launch  it.  28.  I  perceived  and  said  to  Hea  my 
lord,  29.  "  Hea  my  lord  this  that  thou  commandest  me  30.  I  will 
perform,  it  shall  be  done.  31.  army  and  host  32.  Hea  opened 
his  mouth  and  spake,  and  said  to  me  his  servant  33.  thou  shalt 
say  unto  them  34.  he  has  turned  from  me  and  35.  fixed 

[Here  there  are  about  fifteen  lines  entirely  lost.  The  absent 
passage  probably  described  part  of  the  building  of  the  ark.] 

DESCRIPTION  OF  THE  ARK. 

51.  it  52.  which  in  53.  strong  ....  I  brought  54.  on  the  fifth 
day  ....  it  55.  in  its  circuit  fourteen  measures  ....  its  sides 
56.  fourteen  measures  it  measured  ....  over  it  57.  I  placed 
its  roof  on  it  ....  I  inclosed  it  58. 1  rode  in  it,  for  the  sixth 
time  I  ....  for  the  seventh  time  59.  into  the  restless  deep 
....  for  the  ....  time  60.  its  planks  the  waters  within  it  ad- 
mitted 61. 1  saw  breaks  and  holes  ....  my  hand  placed  62. 
three  measures  of  bitumen  I  poured  over  the  outside  63.  three 
measures  of  bitumen  I  poured  over  the  inside  64.  three  measures 
the  men  carrying  its  baskets  took  ....  they  fixed  an  altar  65. 
I  inclosed  the  altar  ....  the  altar  for  an  offering  66.  two 
measures  the  altar  ....  Paziru  the  pilot  67.  for  ...  .  slaugh- 
tered oxen  68.  of  ...  .  in  that  day  also  69.  altar  and  grapes 
70.  like  the  waters  of  a  river  and  71.  like  the  day  I  covered  and 
72.  when  ....  covering  my  hand  placed  73.  and  Shamas 
....  the  material  of  the  ship  completed.  74.  strong  and  75. 
reeds  I  spread  above  and  below.  76.  went  in  two  thirds  of  it. 
77.  All  I  possessed  I  collected  it,  all  I  possessed  I  collected  of 
silver.  78.  all  I  possessed  I  collected  of  gold.  79.  all  I  possessed 
1  collected  of  the  seed  of  life,  the  whole  80.  I  caused  to  go  up 
into  the  ship,  all  my  male  and  female  servants.  81.  the  beasts 
of  the  field,  the  animals  of  the  field,  and  the  sons  of  the  army 
all  of  them,  I  caused  to  go  up. 

THE   EARTH   SWEPT   BY   STORM  AND    FLOOD. 

82.  A  flood  Shamas  made,  and  83.  he  spake  saying  in  the 
night,  "I  will  cause  it  to  rain  from  heaven  heavily;  84.  enter 
to  the  midst  of  the  ship,  and  shut  thy  door."     85.  A  flood  he 


230  APPENDIX. 

raised,  and  86.  he  spake  saying  in  the  night,  "  I  will  cause  it  to 
rain  from  heaven  heavily."  87.  In  the  day  that  I  celebrated  his 
festival  88.  the  day  which  he  had  appointed ;  fear  I  had,  89.  I 
entered  to  the  midst  of  the  ship,  and  shut  my  door  90.  to  guide 
the  ship,  to  Buzursadirabl  the  pilot,  91.  the  palace  I  gave  to  his 
hand.  92.  The  raging  of  a  storm  in  the  morning  93.  arose, 
from  thehorizon  of  heaven  extending  and  wide  94.  Vul  in  the 
midst  of  it  thundered,  and  95.  Nebo  and  Sam  went  in  front; 
96.  the  throne  bearers  went  over  mountains  and  plains;  97.  the 
destroyer  Nergal  overturned ;  98.  Ninip  went  in  front,  and  cast 
down;  99.  the  spirits  carried  destruction;  100.  in  their  glory 
they  swept  the  earth;  101.  of  Vul  the  flood,  reached  to  heaven; 
102.  the  bright  earth  to  a  waste  was  turned ;  103.  the  surface 
of  the  earth,  like  ....  it  swept;  104.  it  destroyed  all  life, 
from  the  face  of  the  earth.  105.  the  strong  tempest  over  the 
people,  reached  to  heaven.  106.  Brother  saw  not  his  brother,  it 
did  not  spare  the  people.  In  heaven  107.  The  gods  feared  the 
tempest,  and  108.  sought  refuge;  thej"^  ascended  to  the  heaven  of 
Anu;  109.  The  gods  like  dogs  with  tails  hidden,  couched  down. 
110.  Spake  Ishtar  a  discourse  111.  uttered  the  great  goddess  her 
speech  112.  "  The  world  to  sin  has  turned,  and  113.  then  I  in 
the  presence  of  the  gods  prophesied  evil ;  114.  when  I  prophe- 
sied in  the  presence  of  the  gods  evil,  115.  to  evil  were  devoted 
all  my  people,  and  I  prophesied  116.  thus,  '  I  have  begotten 
man  and  let  him  not  117.  like  the  sons  of  the  fishes  fill  the 
sea.'  "  118.  The  gods  concerning  the  spirits,  were  weeping  with 
her;  119.  the  gods  in  seats,  seated  in  lamentation;  120.  covered 
were  their  lips  for  the  coming  evil. 

THE    STORM   CALMED. 

121.  Six  days  and  nights  122.  passed,  the  wind  tempest  and 
storm  overwhelmed,  123.  on  the  seventh  day  in  its  course,  was 
calmed  the  storm  and  all  the  tempest  124.  which  had  destroyed 
like  an  earthquake,  125.  quieted.  The  sea  he  caused  to  dry, 
and  the  wind  and  tempest  ended.  126.  I  was  carried  through 
the  sea.  The  doer  of  evil,  127.  and  the  whole  of  mankind 
who  turned  to  sin,  128.  like  reeds  their  corpses  floated.  129. 
I  opened  the  window  and  the  light  broke  in,  over  my  refuge 
130.  it  passed,  I  sat  still  and  131.  over  my  refuge  came  peace. 
132. 1  was  carried  over  the  shore,  at  the  boundary  of  the  sea, 
133.  for  twelve  measures  it  ascended  over  the  land.  134.  To  the 


APPENDIX.  231 

country  of  Nizir,  went  the  ship;  135.  the  mountains  of  Nizir 
stopped  the  ship,  and  to  pass  over  it,  it  was  not  able.  136.  The 
first  day  and  the  second  day,  the  mountain  of  Nizir  the  same. 
137.  The  third  day  and  the  fourth  day,  the  mountain  of  Nizir 
the  same.  138.  The  fifth  and  sixth,  the  mountain  of  Nizir  the 
same. 

A   DOVE   FROM   THE  ARK. 

139.  On  the  seventh  day  in  the  course  of  it  140.  I  sent  forth  a 
dove  and  it  left.  The  dove  went  and  searched,  and  141.  a  rest- 
ing place  it  did  not  find,  and  it  returned.  142.  I  sent  forth  a 
swallow  and  it  left.  The  swallow  went  and  searched,  and  143 
a  resting  place  it  did  not  find,  and  it  returned.  144. 1  sent  forth 
a  raven,  and  it  left.  145.  The  raven  went,  and  the  corpses  on 
the  waters  it  saw,  and  146.  it  did  eat,  it  swam,  and  wandered 
away,  and  did  not  return.  147.  I  sent  the  animals  forth  to  the 
four  winds.  I  poured  out  a  libation.  148.  I  built  an  altar  on 
the  peak  of  the  mountain,  149.  by  seven  herbs  I  cut,  150.  at 
the  bottom  of  them,  I  placed  reeds,  pines,  and  simgar.  151. 
The  gods  collected  at  its  burning,  the  gods  collected  at  its  good 
burning,  152.  the  gods  like  sumbe  over  the  sacrifice  gathered. 
153.  From  of  old  also,  the  great  God  in  his  course,  154.  the  great 
brightness  of  Anu  had  created;  when  the  glory  155.  of  these 
gods,  as  of  Ukni  stone,  on  my  countenance  I  could  not  endure; 
156.  in  those  days  I  prayed  that  forever  I  might  not  endure. 

THE   GOD   OP   THE  TEMPEST. 

157.  May  the  gods  come  to  my  altar;  158.  may  Bel  not  come  to 
my  altar  159.  for  he  did  not  consider  and  had  made  a  tempest, 
160.  and  my  people  he  had  consigned  to  the  deep  161.  from  of 
old,  also  Bel  in  his  course  162.  saw  the  ship,  and  went  Bel  with 
anger  filled  to  the  gods  and  spirits;  163.  let  not  any  one  come 
out  alive,  let  not  a  man  be  saved  from  the  deep.  164.  Ninip  bis 
mouth  opened  and  spake,  and  said  to  the  warrior  Bel,  165. 
"  Who  then  will  be  saved?  "  Hea  the  words  understood,  166. 
and  Hea  knew  all  things,  167.  Hea  his  mouth  opened  and 
spake,  and  said  to  the  warrior  Bel,  168.  "Thou  prince  of  the 
gods,  warrior,  169.  when  thou  wast  angry  a  tempest  thou 
madest,  170.  the  doer  of  sin  did  his  sin,  the  doer  of  evil  did  his 
evil,  171.  may  the  exalted  not  be  broken,  may  the  captive  not 
be  delivered;  172.  instead  of  thee  making  a  tempest,  may  lions 
increase  and  men  be  reduced;   173.  -jistead  of  thee  making  a 


232  APPENDIX. 

tempest,  may  leopards  increase  and  men  be  reduced ;  174.  in- 
stead of  thee  making  a  tempest,  ma}-^  a  famine  happen,  and  the 
country  be  destroyed;  175.  instead  of  thee  making  a  tempest, 
may  pestilence  increase,  and  men  be  destroyed."  176.  I  did 
not  peer  into  the  wisdom  of  the  gods,  177.  reverent  and  atten- 
tive a  dream  they  sent,  and  the  wisdom  of  the  gods  he  heard. 

THE   COUNTRY   PURIFIED. 

178.  When  his  judgment  was  accomplished,  Bel  went  up  to 
the  midst  of  the  ship,  179.  he  took  my  hand  and  brought  me 
out,  me  180.  he  brought  out,  he  caused  to  bring  my  wife  to  my 
side,  181.  he  purified  the  country,  he  established  in  a  covenant, 
and  took  the  people  182.  in  the  presence  of  Sisit  and  the  people; 
183.  when  Sisit  and  his  wife  and  the  people  to  be  like  the  gods 
were  carried  away,  18-i.  then  dwelt  Sisit  in  a  remote  place  at 
the  mouth  of  the  river;  185.  they  took  me  and  in  a  remote 
place  at  the  mouth  of  the  rivers  they  seated  me,  186.  when  to 
thee  whom  the  gods  have  chosen,  thee  and  187.  the  life  which 
thou  hast  sought,  after  thou  shalt  gain  188.  this  do  for  six  days 
and  seven  nights  189.  like  I  say  also,  in  bonds  bind  him  190.  the 
waj'  like  a  storm  shall  be  laid  upon  him.  191.  Sisit  after  this 
manner  said  to  his  wife  192.  I  announce  that  the  chief  who 
grasps  at  life  193.  the  way  like  a  storm  shall  be  laid  upon  him; 
194.  his  wife  after  this  manner,  said  to  Sisit  afar  off  lt)5.  purify 
him  and  let  the  man  be  sent  away  196.  the  road  that  he  came, 
may  he  return  in  peace,  197.  the  great  gate  open,  and  may  he 
return  to  his  country.  198.  Sisit  after  this  manner,  said  to  his 
wife,  199.  the  cry  of  a  man  alarms  thee,  200.  this  do,  his  scarlet 
cloth  place  on  his  head,  201.  and  the  day  when  he  ascended  the 
side  of  the  ship  202.  she  did,  his  scarlet  cloth  she  placed  on 
his  head,  203.  and  the  day  when  he  ascended  on  the  side  of 
the  ship. 

The  lines  that  follow  next  are  very  obscure.  The  close  of  the 
Tablet  reads  as  follows :  — 

242.  Izdubar  and  Urhamsi  rode  in  the  boat  243.  where  they 
placed  them  they  rode.  244.  His  wife  after  this  manner  said  to 
Sisit  afar  off  245.  Izdubar  goes  away,  is  satisfied,  performs  216. 
that  which  thou  hast  given  him  and  returns  to  his  country  247. 
and  he  heard  and  after  Izdubar,  248.  he  went  to  the  shore  249. 
Sisit  after  this  manner  said  to  Izdubar  250.  Izdubar  thou  goest 
away,  thou  art  satisfied,  thou  perforraest  251.  that  v/hich  I  have 


APPENDIX.  233 

given  thee  and  thou  returaest  to  thy  country  252.  I  have  re- 
vealed to  thee  Izdubar  the  concealed  story. 

The  original  or  cuneiform  names  are  mostly  written  in  mono- 
gram, and  therefore  difficult  to  represent  in  English.  The 
cuneiform  account,  says  Mr.  Smith,  like  the  Biblical  account, 
describes  the  deluge  as  a  punishment  on  men  for  their  sins. 
The  Greek  account  of  Berosus  says  nothing  of  that  occasion  of 
the  tiood.  The  dimensions  of  the  ark  are  unfortunately  lost  by 
a  fracture  which  makes  the  figures  illegible.  In  both  cases  (see 
Gen.  vi.  19  ff.)  animals  are  taken  into  the  ark  for  the  perpetua- 
tion of  the  species.  The  duration  of  the  flood  is  shorter  in  the 
legend  than  in  the  Bible  account  (Gen.  vii.  11,  ff.);  for  the  in- 
scription states  that  the  flood  abated  on  the  seventh  day,  and  that 
the  ship  remained  seven  days  on  the  mount  before  sending  out 
the  birds.  The  accounts  differ  as  to  the  mount  on  which  the  ark 
rested;  but  agree  as  to  the  building  of  the  altar  and  the  sacrifice 
on  leaving  the  ark.  Our  interpreter  suggests  that  the  Babylo- 
nian account  may  combine  two  distinct  and  older  traditions ; 
and  further  that  the  Mosaic  account  appears  to  be  that  of  an 
inland  people  while  the  Babylonian  account  appears  to  be  that 
of  a  maritime  people,  i 


II. 

THE  MOABITE  STONE. 
Its  Discovery. 


This  monument  which  has  awakened  so  much  interest  among 
scholars  and  in  the  public  mind  generally,  was  discovered  in 
1868  by  Rev.  F.  Klein  of  the  Church  Missionary  Society  in 
Jerusalem.  It  was  found  at  Dhiban,  the  Biblical  Dibon  (Num. 
xxi.  30;  Is.  XV.  2,  etc.),  on  the  east  of  the  Jordan  in  the  ancient 
territory  of  the  Moabites.  It  is  a  region  remote  from  the  ordi- 
nary route  of  travellers,  and  but  little  known  to  foreigners.  The 
stone  was  lying  on  the  ground  with  the  inscription  uppermost, 
measuring  about  three  feet  nine  inches  long,  two  feet  four 

1  Maturer  study  may  modify  gome  of  the  readings  or  conclusions  from 
them ,  but  are  not  likely  to  vary  rery  much  the  results 


234  APPENDIX. 

inches  in  breadth,  and  one  foot  two  inches  thick.  Through  the 
efforts  mainlj'  of  Captain  Warren,  and  of  the  French  vice-consul 
at  Jerusalem,  M.  Ganneau,  an  impression  (or  squeeze  so  called) 
was  taken  of  the  main  block  and  of  certain  recovered  parts 
which  had  been  broken  off  by  the  Arabs. 

Mr.  Deutsch  of  the  British  Museum,  decides  that  the  charac- 
ters of  this  stone  are  older  than  many  of  the  Assyrian  bi-lingual 
cylinders  which  are  as  old  at  least  as  the  ninth  century  b.  c. 
No  word  occurs  in  the  language  of  this  inscription  of  which  the 
root  does  not  exist  in  the  Hebrew  Bible.  It  reads  in  this 
respect  M.  de  Vogii^  remarks,  like  a  page  from  the  Hebrew 
Scriptures.  The  form  of  the  letters  is  the  oldest  known  to 
any  written  language.  The  Pentateuch  was  no  doubt  written 
in  such  letters  in  the  time  of  Moses,  and  Solomon  and  Hiram 
corresponded  with  each  other  in  such  characters.  (See  Jos. 
Ant.  xii.  9,  §  1.) 

Among  the  various  translations  of  this  document  (we  have 
them  from  Ganneau  and  Derenbourg  in  French;  Noeldeke, 
Haug,  and  Schlottmann  in  German,  and  Neubauer,  Ginsburg, 
and  others  in  English),  that  of  Dr.  Ginsburg  is  the  best  for 
English  readers.  We  insert  it  here  with  figures  showing  the 
order  of  the  lines  as  arranged  on  the  stone,  some  of  them  being 
incomplete  or  illegible,  i 

TRANSLATION. 

1.  I  Mesha  am  son  of  Chemoshgad  King  of  Moab,  the  2. 
Dibonite.  My  father  reigned  over  Moab  thirty  years,  and  I 
reigned  3.  after  my  father.  And  I  erected  this  Stone  to  Che- 
mosh  at  Karcha  [a  stone  of]  4.  [Sa]lvation,  for  he  saved  me 
from  all  despoilers  and  let  me  see  my  desire  upon  all  my  ene- 
mies. 5.  and  Om[r]i,  King  of  Israel,  who  oppressed  Moab 
many  days,  for  Chemosh  was  angry  with  his  6.  [la]nd.  His 
son  succeeded  him,  and  he  also  said,  I  will  oppress  Moab.  In 
my  days  he  said,  [let  us  go]  7.  and  I  will  see  my  desire  on  him 
and  his  house,  and  Israel  said,  I  shall  destroy  it  forever.  Now 
Omri  took  the  land  8.  Medeba  and  occupied  it  [he  and  his  son 

1  The  Moabite  Stone;  a  Facsimile  of  the  Inscription,  etc.  (Lond. 
1870,  pp.  1-45).  It  contains  also  the  other  translations  referred  to 
above  and  is  illustrated  by  valuable  notes.  The  translations  of  Prof 
Schlottmann  and  of  M.  de  Vogiie  will  be  found  in  The  Recovery  ofJeru- 
salem,  pp.  396-399  (1871). 


APPENDIX.  235 

and  his  son's]  son,  forty  years.  And  Chemosh  [had  mercy]  9. 
on  it  in  my  days ;  and  I  built  Baal  Moon,  and  made  therein 
the  ditch  and  I  [built]  10.  Kirjathaim,  for  the  men  of  Gad 
dwelled  in  the  land  [Atar]oth  from  of  old,  and  the  K[ing  of 
I]srael  fortified  11.  A[t]aroth,  and  I  assaulted  the  wall  and  cap- 
tured it,  and  killed  all  the  wa[rriors  of].  12.  the  wall,  for  the 
well  pleasing  of  Chemosh  and  Moab,  and  I  removed  from  it 
all  the  spoil,  and  [of  13.  fered]  it  before  Chemosh  in  Kiijath, 
and  I  placed  therein  the  men  of  Siran  and  the  me[n  of  Zereth] 
14.  Shachar.  And  Chemosh  said  to  me.  Go  take  Nebo  against 
Israel.  [And  I]  15.  went  in  the  night,  and  I  fought  against  it 
from  the  break  of  dawn  till  noon,  and  I  took  16.  it,  and  slew  in 
all  seven  thousand  [men],  but  I  did  not  kill  the  women  17.  and 
[ma]idens,  for  [I]  devoted  [them]  to  Ashtar-Chemosh ;  and  I 
took,  from  it  18.  [the  vesjsels  of  Jehovah  and  offered  them  be- 
fore Chemosh.  And  the  King  of  Israel  fortif[ied]  19.  Jahaz, 
and  occupied  it,  when  he  made  war  against  me;  and  Chemosh 
drove  him  out  before  [me  and]  20.  I  took  from  Moab  two  hun- 
dred men,  all  chiefs,  and  fought  against  Jahaz,  and  took  it,  21. 
in  addition  to  Dibon.  I  built  Karcha,  the  wall  of  the  forest, 
and  the  wall  22.  of  the  city,  and  I  built  the  gates  thereof,  and  I 
built  the  towers  thereof,  and  I  23.  built  the  palace,  and  I  made 
the  prisons  for  the  men  of  ...  .  with  [in  the]  24.  wall.  And 
there  was  no  cistern  within  the  wall  in  Karcha,  and  I  said  to  all 
the  people,  Make  for  yourselves  25.  every  man  a  cistern  in  his 
house.  And  I  dug  the  ditch  for  Karcha  with  the  [chosen]  men 
of  26.  [Is]rael.  I  built  Aroer  and  I  made  the  road  across  the 
Arnon,  27.  I  built  Beth-Bamoth,  for  it  was  destroyed;  I  built 
Bezer,  for  it  was  cu[t  down]  28.  by  the  fifty  m[en]  of  Dibon, 
for  all  Dibon  was  now  loyal;  and  I  sav[ed]  29.  [from  my  ene- 
mies] Bikran,  which  I  added  to  my  land,  and  I  bui[lt]  30. 
[Beth-Gamul],  and  Beth-Diblathaim,  and  Beth-Baal-Meon,  and 
I  placed  there  the  Mo[abites]  31.  [to  take  possession  of]  the 
land.  And  Horonaim  dwelt  therein  ....  32.  And  Chemosh 
said  to  me,  Go  down,  make  war  against  Horonaim,  and  ta[ke 
it]  ...  .  33.  Chemosh  in  my  days  34.  year  and  I  .  .  .  . 

COMMENTARY. 

The  tablet  thus  translated  is  a  commemorative  record  of  the 
successes  of  Mesha,  king  of  Moab,  against  the  Israelites  during  a 
reign  of  forty  years  or  more  from  about  b.  c.  925.     Nearly  two 


236  APPENDIX. 

thirds  of  the  inscription  relate  to  the  deliverance  of  his  land,  In 
the  latter  part  of  his  reign,  from  its  vassalage  to  the  dynastj"-  of 
Omri.  Hitherto,  we  have  known  very  little  concerning  the  re- 
lations between  Moab  and  the  Israelites  during  a  period  of 
nearly  eighty  years  between  the  merciless  subjugation  of  the 
Moabites  by  David  (2  Sam.  viii.  2,  11,  12;  1  Chr.  xviii.  2, 
11)  and  the  notice  of  the  revolt  after  the  death  of  Ahab  (2  K. 
i.  1;  xiii.  5  sq.). 

From  the  stone  it  would  appear  that  Moab's  subjection  had 
not  lasted  during  this  whole  period,  but  had  ceased  perhaps  in 
the  time  of  Solomon  and  had  been  reimposed  by  Omri  who 
had  made  himself  sovereign  of  the  northern  kingdom  (b.  c. 
935).  This  tributary  connection  lasted  through  the  greater  part 
of  Omri's  dynasty,  i.  e.  during  the  forty  years  of  the  stone, 
but  came  to  an  end  under  Jehoram  who  though  aided  by  the 
kings  of  Judah  and  Edom  and  at  times  remarkably  successful, 
was  unable  to  quell  the  rebellion  of  the  Edomite  Mesha.  This 
failure  of  the  Israelite  king  seems  to  be  obscurely  admitted  in 
2  K.  iii.  27.  This  deliverance  of  Moab  and  the  subsequent 
public  enterprises  of  Mesha  which  the  stone  records  prepared 
the  way  for  that  long  career  of  prosperity  which  contemporary 
and  later  Hebrew  prophets  recognize  as  enjoyed  by  them.  (See 
Is.  XV.,  xvi.;  Jer.  xlviii. ;  Dan.  xi.  41;  Am.  ii.  1,  2.) 

The  following  proper  names  are  found  both  on  the  monument 
and  in  the  Hebrew  Scriptures:  Mesha,  Moab,  Chamos  or 
Chemos  (national  god  of  the  Moabites),  Omri,  Kirjath,  Israel, 
Medeba,  Jahveh  or  Jehovah,  Boroz  or  Bozreh,  Kirjathaim,  Gad, 
Ataroth,  Sereth  or  Seban(  V),  Nebo,  Ashtor,  or  Shemosh,  David, 
Jatar,  Dibon,  Aroer,  Arnon,  Beth-Bamoth  or  Bamoth  Bezer, 
Gamul,  Beth-Diblathaim,  and  conjecturally  some  others. 

These  names  both  of  persons  and  places  common  to  the  stone 
and  the  Hebrew  history  supplement  and  illustrate  the  two 
records,  and  show  at  the  same  time  their  independence  of  each 
other  by  the  slight  variations  and  obscurities  which  they  reveal. 

We  may  add  further  that  the  discovery  of  this  stone  confirms 
the  passages  of  Scripture  (1  Sam.  vii.  12;  xv.  12,  and  2  Sam. 
viii.  13)1  which  imply  that  the  Hebrews,  like  the  Egyptians  and 

1  In  two  of  the  passages  the  A.  V.  does  not  suggest  the  right  mean- 
ing. In  1  Sam.  xv.  12,  it  should  be,  '•  Set  up  a  pillar  or  trophy,  in- 
stead of  '  place '  "  (see  Furst,  Hebr.  Lex.  p.  539) ;  and  in  2  Sam.  viii.  13, 
it  should  be  "  Set  up  a  name,  or  monument,"  and  not  "gat  him  a 


APPENDIX.  237 

Assyrians,  erected  stones  for  commemorative  purposes.  ^  It  en- 
couragas  the  hope  that  by  perseverance,  other  similar  discoveries 
may  be  made;  it  justifies  the  attempts  made  at  the  present 
time,  by  the  Exploration  Societies  of  England  and  of  this  coun- 
try, to  rescue  as  soon  as  possible  from  Arab  violence  and  the 
ravages  of  time  any  similar  monuments  of  sacred  interest  (and 
such  undoubtedly  there  are)  in  the  lands  of  the  Bible.2 

name."  In  1  Sam. -vii.  12,  the  monumental  stone  "  Ebenezer  "  {stone 
of  help),  was  Samuel's  recognition  of  Jehovah's  interposition  for  him 
which  he  would  perpetuate  to  all  time. 

1  On  the  palaeographic  value  of  this  inscription  the  reader  may  see 
Prof.  G.  Kawlinson,  on  "the  Moabite  Stone"  {Contemporary  Review, 
Aug.  1870,  London),  and  Rev.  W.  Ward  under  "Writing"  in  Smith's 
Bibl.  Diet.  iv.  p.  3577  ff.  (Amer.  ed.),  and  Bibl.  Sacr.  art.  iii.  Oct.  1870. 

2  Our  Work  in  Palestine  (published  by  the  Exploration  Fund,  Lond. 
1872  and  New  York,  1873),  states  what  their  labors  there  have  already 
accomplished,  and  what  their  plans  and  hopes  are  for  the  future. 


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